White Coat Hypertension May Be an Initial Sign of an Accelerated Atherosclerotic Process

Abstract

Background: Role of white coat hypertension (WCH) is unknown in metabolic syndrome. Methods: The study was performed in the Internal Medicine Polyclinic. Results: The study included 1,068 patients (628 females). Prevalence of excess weight increased from the third (28.7%) up to the seventh decades (87.0%), gradually (p<0.05 nearly in all steps), and then decreased in the eighth decade of life (78.5%, p<0.05). The most significant increase was detected during the passage from the third to the fourth decade (28.7% versus 63.6%, p<0.001) parallel to the smoking. Similarly, hypertriglyceridemia, hyperbetalipoproteinemia, dyslipidemia, impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and WCH increased up to the seventh decade of life and decreased afterwards (p<0.05 nearly in all steps). On the other hand, hypertension (HT), type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM), and coronary heart disease (CHD) always increased without any decrease by decades (p<0.05 nearly in all steps) indicating their irreversible properties. Conclusion: Probably metabolic syndrome is an accelerated atherosclerotic process all over the body. It includes some reversible parameters such as smoking, alcohol, sedentary life style, animal-rich diet, overweight, hypertriglyceridemia, hyperbetalipoproteinemia, dyslipidemia, impaired fasting glucose, IGT, and WCH for the development of terminal illnesses such as early aging, obesity, DM, HT, peripheric artery disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cirrhosis, CHD, and stroke. The terminal illnesses are mainly due to the chronic inflammatory process on the arterial endothelial systems due to the much higher blood pressure in them. WCH may be an initial sign of the accelerated atherosclerotic process that can be detected easily.