Diagnostic Criteria of White Coat Hypertension (WCH): Consequences for the Implications of WCH for Target Organs

In a sample comprising 51 normotensive subjects and 51 subjects with in-clinic arterial hypertension [blood pressures (BPs) S 140/90 mmHg), we investigated the prevalence of target organ damage [left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and retinal vasculopathy] in white coat hypertension (WCH) groups defined using: (a) the "optimal ambulatory BP" criterion of the Seventh International Consensus Conference (in-clinic BPs S 140/90 mmHg, daytime mean BPs <130/80 mmHg) and (b) the "normal ambulatory BP" criterion proposed in 1997 by Verdecchia and co-workers (in-clinic BPs S 140/ 90 mmHg, daytime mean BPs <135/85 mmHg), and we compared the results with those obtained for the normotensive group and for a WCH group defined as in a 1996 study of the same data. We found that the newer criteria did not alter the conclusions reached in 1996: namely, that WCH constitutes a state of risk intermediate between normotension and sustained hypertension, which demands in-depth evaluation and active monitoring, if not im...