Dr. Heather Johnson was recently featured in a local news story on “masked hypertension,” a condition where blood pressure readings are normal when they are measured at the doctor’s office, but are actually high in non-clinical settings due to stressful or fast-paced daily living. Masked hypertension is the opposite of “white coat hypertension,” where anxiety about being in a clinical environment raises blood pressure temporarily. Masked hypertension can be difficult to diagnose and can result in long-term damage to the heart and kidneys, and is estimated to affect 10-15% of Americans.
