Dealing with white-coat hypertension

YOU visit your doctor's clinic and you are told that the blood pressure is elevated. Does it really mean that you have high blood pressure (hypertension)? A 76-page document forms the European Society of Cardiology and the European Society of Hypertension (ESH/ESC) 2013 guidelines for hypertension - a telling sign that not all the experts can agree on many of the issues pertaining to hypertension.

While the latest guidelines state that "it is recommended that the diagnosis of hypertension be based on at least two blood pressure measurements per visit on at least two occasions", it recognises the limitations of basing the diagnosis of hypertension on the current definition and supports the use of home blood pressure monitoring in hypertension management.

In the latest guidelines, the criterion for the diagnosis of hypertension based on a blood pressure reading of 140/90mm Hg or more has remained largely unchanged.