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[What do we know about consultation hypertension?]
W B Nielsen1, T L Svendsen, L E Bang
1Medicinsk afdeling, Centralsygehuset i Naestved.
Insights
White coat hypertension affects 20% of patients with mild to moderate hypertension. While its causes are unclear, prognosis is fair, often not requiring medical treatment, and accurate diagnosis can save healthcare costs.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Hypertension Research
Context:
- White coat hypertension (WCH) affects approximately 20% of individuals diagnosed with mild to moderate hypertension.
- Accurate diagnosis is crucial for appropriate patient management and resource allocation in hypertension care.
Purpose:
- To review the existing literature on white coat hypertension.
- To assess the current understanding of WCH pathophysiology, prognosis, and treatment implications.
Summary:
- The pathophysiology of WCH remains incompletely understood.
- The prognosis for untreated WCH appears favorable, with minimal need for medical intervention.
- Accurate diagnosis, utilizing ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, is emphasized.
Impact:
- Improved diagnostic accuracy for hypertension can lead to significant healthcare cost savings, estimated in the millions of Danish crowns annually.
- Highlights the importance of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in clinical practice for differentiating true hypertension from WCH.
Abstract:
This review article examines the essential literature concerning "white coat" hypertension. It is stated that "white coat" hypertension is present in approximately 20% of patients with diagnosed mild to moderate hypertension. It is concluded that the pathophysiology of "white coat" hypertension is incompletely investigated; that the prognosis for untreated "white coat" hypertension seems fair; medical treatment being scarcely required. It is concluded further that more accurate diagnosis of mild to moderate hypertension, including the use of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, will reduce the overall expenses by approximately million Danish crowns annually (approximately 2,000,000 pounds).