How much can “white coat syndrome” affect blood pressure reading?

[Kate3150]

Just curious?
I suffer from this and wondered actually how much it can have an effect on blood pressure numbers?

It is a medically recognised phenomenon,
however I do think that if having your blood pressure taken in a surgery is stressful enough to raise your blood pressure, then it’s likely that other situations will raise it too.

It can affect it a bit so they make adjustments.

I've got my own BP machine (same one as the GP) and when I put the reading into the NHS BP website, it always asks if it was taken at home or in a professional setting.

Mine changes by around 10-15 points systolic. That's at the GP. At the dentist, it goes really, really high, around 180 systolic but then I am a dental phobe. At home, I'm around 125-130 over 70.

I have white coat syndrome and it’s always high when taken at the Drs or any medical setting for that matter!
I had to have a 24 hour BP monitor fitted last year as my BP went quite high when taken by the pharmacist. It was absolutely fine when taken at home on the 24 hour thing.

Dentists take BP? Since when? (Or is this just for certain procedures?)

I went to the OOH GP and then A&E as I had a painful calf a few years ago. I had my BP taken by a nurse who then commented that it was dangerously high. I replied that it was possibly high because I had just been diagnosed with a DVT !!

I'm in my 60s and BP has always been spot on. Currently 128/75
Get me inside a dentist, hospital or surgery and it's very different. I went for bowel scope screening and nurse took bloods and blood pressure before hand. She mused out loud at the reading as it was 178. "That's very high " I remarked that I was about to have a camera shoved up my backside in front of an audience of 5 so that might have summat to do with it

A lot! My surgery never take mine, I always bring my home readings in. So many of my friends are the same.
I had a 24 hour one on last year and apart from the 1st couple the readings were perfect.

A lot. My late DH used to send his BP up astonishingly high if we had to visit a medic.

A lot - to the extent that a GP ummed and ahhed about doing me a repeat prescription for HRT. I can actually feel my BP rising when I go into the surgery so I do mine at home now. Funnily enough, the other GP I saw for the follow-up said she gets it too, she was pg and said she had to do hers at home as well.

Get your own BP machine and record at home, relaxed, at regular intervals to get a better picture of your normal BP.
I’m another whose BP rockets in medical situations!

I was due to have sedation for several fillings. Nearly didn't happen as the dentist wasn't happy with how high my BP was, but after sitting quietly for a minute it did drop to where he would carry out the procedure. Thankfully!