Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
Citation:
Cheprasov A, Bell D, Iqbal S, et al. White coat effect. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 29 Mar 2025) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-37202
The white coat effect (WCE), not to be confused with white coat hypertension, is a measure of change that is commonly defined as the difference between in-clinic and out-of-clinic blood pressure readings 1,2.
Alternatively, the white coat effect can be defined as the increase in the arterial blood pressure of a subject in response to the measurement of their blood pressure in a clinical setting 3.
Therefore, the implication of the white coat effect is one of higher patient blood pressure levels in office when compared to those measured out office.
The white coat effect is most noticeable in patients with severe hypertension 1.
Epidemiology
The prevalence of the white coat effect is greater in Asia and in Europe and this may be due to a genetic predisposition 4.
-
1. Kaplan NM, Victor RG. Kaplan's Clinical Hypertension. LWW. ISBN:1451190131. Read it at Google Books - Find it at Amazon
-
2. Manual of Hypertension of the European Society of Hypertension, Second Edition. CRC Press. ISBN:1841849979. Read it at Google Books - Find it at Amazon
-
3. Parati G, Ulian L, Santucciu C et-al. Difference between clinic and daytime blood pressure is not a measure of the white coat effect. Hypertension. 1998;31 (5): 1185-9. doi:10.1161/01.HYP.31.5.1185 - Pubmed citation
-
4. Rimpel J, Rimpel NT, Rimpel JA, Rimpel PrI, Rimpel TA, Rimpel HA, Rimpel LkT, Rimpel SV, Rimpel KK, Rimpel HT, Rimpel. Genome-wide Association Study of White-Coat Effect in Hypertensive Patients. (2019) Blood pressure. doi:10.1080/08037051.2019.1604066 - Pubmed
Promoted articles (advertising)
Unable to process the form. Check for errors and try again.