Ask Dr Miriam

Q When I go to my doctor my blood pressure is always high. My doctor says I have “white coat syndrome”. I’ve been given a blood pressure machine to use at home but what happens if I discover my blood pressure is high even at home? A

A lot of people with high blood pressure find it is even higher when taken in the surgery. Caused by anxiety, it’s become known as white coat syndrome. Fear of doctors is driving your blood pressure up. Measuring your blood pressure at home should get rid of this bias, but you may get a reading that’s higher than you expected and that’s quite scary. So, ask your doctor what he or she would like you to do in that case. My advice would be to sit down, read a book have a cup of tea and take your blood pressure again, and even a third time.

Then take the average of the three readings.