The Impact of Attire and Occupation on the Accuracy of Blood Pressure Measurements

White coat hypertension describes individuals with elevated blood pressure (BP) in medical facilities, such as clinics, and hospitals, but whose BP is normal when they are going about their daily activities. The purpose of this study was to assess whether certain types of healthcare providers are more accurately able to determine BP in comparison to the twenty four hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), as well as to assess the effect of a healthcare provider’s attire on BP reading. The results show that BP readings were significantly higher when any of the healthcare providers wore a white lab coat. This suggests that attire of the healthcare provider has an impact on the BP readings. Cardiologists were most prone to causing white coat hypertension compared to nurses or cardiovascular technicians. It is therefore advised that alternate healthcare providers check BP to minimize the risk of erroneous BP readings and reduce the risk of white coat hypertension.