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High Blood Pressure
August 17 , 2004 by Agnes OblasQuestion:
When I get my Blood Pressure checked at the doctor’s office its borderline high. My doctor wants to put me on medicine but I think my Blood Pressure is normal the rest of the time. Should I start on some medicine?
Answer:
There is a commonly known situation of “white coat hypertension” where the blood pressure is elevated when a medical person (presumably in a white lab coat) checks it. Whether or not it is beneficial to treat this depends on a few factors so it is difficult to give a simple yes or no answer.
How do you know your blood pressure is normal at other times? Is it elevated in the office because you just ran up three flights of stairs or because you’ve been waiting in the exam room for an hour for someone to come in and you’re getting a little hot under the collar? Is there family history of high blood pressure or are you very much overweight? Lots of other information is needed before giving you the best advice here.
It’s my opinion that blood pressure that goes up in the presence of a medical person indicates a sensitive response to “stressors” and that other stressors will cause the blood pressure to go up such as Phoenix traffic, world news, dealing with an obstreperous adolescent at home, etc. And it is these patients that I would go ahead and treat first with life style modifications (diet, exercise, stress management techniques) and then if need be with medication.
A. Oblas, RN, CS, MSN
Nurse Practitioner
602.405.6320
medical@evliving.com
