Patients with “White Coat Syndrome” have a higher risk of heart attack

White Coat Syndrome also sometimes called as white coat hypertension, is a condition in which patients display higher blood pressure level, in a medical facility or doctor’s office, which they don’t experience it in their home. It is a belief that, due to the anxiety or from past negative experience, their blood pressure level rises whenever they are in these settings.

It is believed that anxiety itself does not cause hypertension. Due to an anxiety episode, one might experience temporary spikes in his blood pressure. If those temporary spikes keep on occurring frequently, they can create complications like damage to your blood vessels, heart, and kidneys, as can chronic high blood pressure.

The whole idea of white coat syndrome might sound like a mere psychological thing, but a recent study indicates otherwise. According to a recent study conducted at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, patients who suffer from white coat syndrome actually suffer more heart attacks, heart failure, and strokes than patients with normal blood pressure.

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Their findings of the study were based on tracking 3,027 residents for nine years, taking notes of their cardiovascular issues, including heart attack, stroke, atrial fibrillation and heart bypass surgery. Out of the 3,027 residents, 3 percent had white coat hypertension and 18 percent had masked hypertension.

The result of the study suggested that both white coat hypertension and masked hypertension are independently associated with increased aortic stiffness, renal injury, and incident cardiovascular events.

In order to overcome white coat syndrome, you need to understand why it’s happening. It’s your anxiety that your blood pressure level is going to be measured high, causing your blood pressure to go up. So in order to get a perfect reading, the first thing you need to do is to relax. If possible move from the crowded area of the doctor’s chamber and go to a quieter environment. Sometimes changing the conversation also helps.

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