The medical community acknowledges "white coat syndrome," the situation where a person's blood pressure spikes when measured at the doctor's office. While fear of needles, being touched, or fear of a bad diagnoses are natural responses in the healthcare setting, unfortunately too many doctors fail to acknowledge that a temporary spike in blood pressure may be just that, temporary.

If a doctor misdiagnoses a healthy patient with high blood pressure, it could lead to the unnecessary and overprescribing of blood pressure-lowering medications, which could result in dizziness, fatigue, blurred vision, nausea, depression, shallow breathing, fainting, and in serious cases, death – and possible grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Factors that Affect Blood Pressure Readings

In 2014, Dr. Robert Smith, a cardiologist at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center conducted a blood pressure study. The study found that there were several factors that affect the accuracy of a blood pressure reading, including but not limited to:

• Talking
• Active listening
• Distended bladder
• Cuff over clothing
• Smoking within 30 minutes of reading
• An unsupported back or arm when standing or sitting

The study found that if a patient is incorrectly diagnosed with high blood pressure, it can lead to unnecessary lifestyle changes and a decreased quality of life.

With 1 in 3 Americans being diagnosed with high blood pressure, you would think that doctors would be better at diagnosing and treating it. But, according to Samuel J. Mann, M.D., a hypertension specialist at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, high blood pressure is often misdiagnosed.

Dr. Mann says that nurses and doctors routinely make mistakes when taking a patient's blood pressure, which leads to falsely high readings.

To illustrate: About 20 percent of patients experience "white coat hypertension," which is where blood pressure readings are abnormally high at a doctor's office. Because this condition is so common, patients would be well-advised to monitor their blood pressure at home.