An evidence-based practice case study: white coat hypertension.
White coat hypertension, also referred to as isolated clinical hypertension, is a condition in which blood pressure rises in the medical setting due to anxiety. White coat hypertension causes no more than 15 mmHg increase in systolic blood pressure or 7 mmHg increase in diastolic blood pressure in normotensive patients, and these increases in blood pressures should return to baseline within 3 visits to the medical provider. In this case, a 77-year-old white man presented to preoperative testing, with a blood pressure of 265/101 mmHg, claiming to have white coat hypertension. This case discusses the interventions implemented for this particular patient and the misdiagnosis and misperceptions of white coat hypertension by both clinicians and patients. This article also addresses recommendations for diagnosis, treatment options, and follow-up for patients with true white coat hypertension.
Mary Ellis Richardson, BS, RN, resides in Richmond, VA. She is currently pursuing an MS in Nursing at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Nursing. She works at VCU Medical Center as a registered nurse on a general medicine floor.
Mary Ellis
ME
Richardson
D000368:Aged; D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures / Q000523:psychology; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination; D055318:Evidence-Based Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D059466:White Coat Hypertension / Q000523:psychology*