Blood Pressure Hikes May Become Lasting

People whose blood pressure spikes from time to time are more likely to develop long-term high blood pressure, a study finds. The study included 1,400 people. Some had “white-coat” hypertension. This means that pressure is high in the doctor’s office but normal otherwise. Of this group, 43 out of 100 had true high blood pressure within 10 years. Other people in the study had “masked” hypertension. Their blood pressure was normal in the doctor’s office but spiked from time to time in everyday life. Of this group, 47 out of 100 later developed high blood pressure. Some people always had normal blood pressure when the study started. Only 18 out of 100 of them later developed high blood pressure. The study appeared in the journal Hypertension. HealthDay News wrote about it June 29.