White-coat normotension

NEW YORK, June 20 (Praxis Press) Differences between ambulatory (ABP) and office blood pressure (OBP) measurements have brought attention to the problem of misdiagnoses. Although studies have focused on white-coat hypertension (elevated OBP with normal ABP means), few studies have examined "white-coat normotension" (WCN; normal OBP with elevated ABP means). To quantitate the difference in blood pressure readings in WCN and to characterize the prevalence of WCN, Selenta and colleagues monitored 319 presumed healthy participants (see article). They measured OBP five times and ABP for a period of 10- to 12-hours during the daytime. The researchers found that prevalence rates of WCN were 23% for systolic BP and 24% for diastolic BP and that subjects with WCN differ from true normotensive subjects on several demographic and lifestyle variables. Office measures of BP lack sensitivity, missing a sizable portion of individuals who have hypertensive mean ABP measurements.