"White coat syndrome" and "white coat hypertension" are terms used to describe blood pressure results that are higher at a health-care provider's office than at home. Patients may feel stress or anxiety due to a number of reasons, including fear of what may happen during their appointment and nervousness about an upcoming procedure or the results of important tests. Health-care providers can take simple steps to decrease the anxiety or stress in patients so accurate blood pressure readings can be obtained.
Instructions
1. Greet your patient with a smile and speak in a friendly tone. This is a basic step, but health-care providers are often in a hurry and sometimes forget that a smile can go a long way toward relaxing a patient.
2. Talk to the patient about general topics, if appropriate, such as the weather.
3. Tell the patient you are going to take his and explain the process to him.
4. Sit at eye level with the patient when taking his blood pressure. Standing over a patient is intimidating and can increase the level of stress in an already stressed patient.
5. Discuss what the patient can expect during the appointment and answer any questions he may have before taking his vital signs. Sometimes relieving the fear of the unknown can put a patient at ease.
6. Discuss imaging techniques if the patient is visibly stressed or anxious by instructing the patient to visualize a calming place or situation.
7. Teach the patient to relax his body by slowly and calmly breathing.
8. Play soft, relaxing music in the area where blood pressure checks are performed, whether this is in the examination room or at a station outside the room.
9. Take the reading near the end of the visit, if possible--not at the beginning. The patient may feel more comfortable at the end of his visit.
Tags: blood pressure,