You have high blood pressure, but you're normal at the hospital?What is the difference between mask hypertension and white hypertension?
Jun 20, 2025
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After cardiovascular treatment, he performed a 24-hour active blood pressure test (ABPM), and was diagnosed with high average blood pressure and needed to take antihypertensive drugs.
In hospitals, normal blood pressure but high blood pressure in real life is called 'mask hypertension', and on the contrary, in hospitals, high blood pressure but normal blood pressure in real life is called 'white hypertension'.
◇The prevalence of mask hypertension and white hypertension is around 10% respectively
If you look at domestic and international statistics, the prevalence of masked and white hypertension is around 10%, respectively, and high-risk groups such as diabetic patients are reported up to 20-30%.
Oh Min-seok, head of the cardiovascular department at Bundang Jesaeng Hospital, said "The most common reason for masked hypertension is that despite the high average blood pressure, the lowest blood pressure is measured several times and considered normal. Blood pressure is temporarily higher than the average blood pressure in the morning and low at night. Regardless of the average blood pressure, it can be mistaken that it is okay to measure home blood pressure only at the lowest measured time or in the least nervous environment or place. In addition, for smokers, smoking increases their blood pressure, and if they temporarily quit smoking after hearing that the hospital is testing them, they may come out lower than normal blood pressure. "
Manager Oh Min-seok said, `In the case of white high blood pressure, blood pressure is high only in hospitals, which is often caused by worries about 'being afraid of high blood pressure and having a disease'. This is because this anxiety stimulates the autonomic nervous system, which raises stress hormones, which temporarily increases blood pressure. In addition, if you measure your blood pressure before stabilizing as soon as you come to the hospital, or drink coffee or smoke just before measuring your blood pressure, your blood pressure may be high", he explained.
Manager Oh "As the number of hypertensive patients increases in the actual clinic, the number of masked and white hypertensive patients is also increasing. Mask hypertension and white hypertension are more of a phenomenon than a diagnostic name, and psychological stability is important because both are involved in psychological stress. "Some patients of white hypertension need consultation with a doctor because they need psychiatric treatment rather than blood pressure medication, and mask hypertension is a patient who needs to take high blood pressure medication, so it is necessary to avoid salty foods that can lower blood pressure, and to improve lifestyle habits such as weight loss, smoking cessation, and abstaining from alcohol."
Mask hypertension is actually high blood pressure, but it is not treated, so it is exposed to cardiovascular risks caused by high blood pressure. White high blood pressure is likely to progress to high blood pressure in the long term, so care should be taken.
◇If you smoke or drink coffee, measure after more than 30 minutes
High blood pressure is a chronic disease in which arterial blood pressure is continuously high, and the pressure applied by the heart to the tubular wall to send blood throughout the body is high. If blood pressure persists, serious heart diseases such as heart failure, arrhythmia, and myocardial infarction and damage cerebrovascular, which can lead to decreased brain function and aftereffects such as cerebral infarction, cerebral hemorrhage, vascular dementia, memory loss, and cognitive impairment.
According to statistics from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service, hypertension has increased by about 15% over the past five years from 6,317,663 in 2019 to 7,273,888 in 2022.
I thought it was high blood pressure, but I thought it was normal blood pressure, but it is important to measure home blood pressure to distinguish between white high blood pressure and masked high blood pressure. If necessary, a 24-hour active blood pressure measurement test may be performed at a medical institution.
When measuring blood pressure at home, it is recommended to take a rest, empty urine, and measure more than 30 minutes after caffeine, smoking, and exercise. If there is a difference between each measurement of blood pressure, measure the average value several times, and if there is a difference between both arms, it is based on the higher side. At this time, it should be noted that the diagnostic criteria for hypertension are different from those for home and hospital. Hypertension is diagnosed when the blood pressure measured at the hospital exceeds 140/90mmHg or 135/85mmHg when measured at home. In addition, it is recommended to measure blood pressure at a certain time, such as waking up in the morning, going to the bathroom, and before going to sleep.
Manager Oh Min-seok advised, "'High blood pressure is mostly asymptomatic, but when symptoms occur, there is an irreversible change or a heart attack may be the first symptom, so if your blood pressure is high, make sure to check with the medical staff whether treatment is necessary, and even if you are taking antihypertensive drugs, it is necessary to check your blood pressure at home.'"
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
