White coat hypertension in Zimbabwean African women

The prevalence of white coat hypertension in the Zimbabwean African female population has not been well defined.

To determine the prevalence of white coat hypertension and to compare the cardiovascular risk profiles of those with white coat hypertension to those with sustained hypertension.

A cross-sectional study.

Out patient department of Parirenyatwa Medical School Teaching Hospital, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Females with an average blood pressure of 140-160/90-105 mmHg.

Females with an average blood pressure of 140-160/90-105 mmHg wore 24 hour ambulatory blood pressure monitors (ABPM). Subjects with >20 mmHg systolic or >10 mmHg diastolic difference between the average out-patient blood pressure and the average awake blood pressure from the ABPM were labelled as white coat hypertensives.

The prevalence of white coat hypertension was 38% and the average number of risk factors per patient for the white coat group was 2.9. This result was similar to that for the sustained hypertensive group which had an average of 3.1 risk factors per patient.

White coat hypertension may be a common finding in black hypertensive Zimbabwean females who have out patient blood pressure measurements of 140-160/90-105 mmHg. The cardiovascular risk profile of these white coat hypertensives was found to be very similar to that of sustained hypertensives.