NYU Lutheran helps kids with ‘white coat hypertension’
Doctors at NYU Lutheran Medical Center have made an interesting discovery with the help of new technology and the results could go a long way toward helping children avoid high blood pressure.
A new clinical breakthrough, an at-home monitoring bracelet, has allowed Dr. Laura Malaga-Dieguez, leader of NYU Lutheran’s pediatric nephrology service, to determine that half of the children referred to her for high blood pressure don’t actually have it.
It turns out the kids are just afraid of doctors.
“It’s a real condition — not limited to kids — called ‘white-coat hypertension.’ Their blood pressure elevates when they are in the doctor’s office. But the monitor bracelets show us that their blood pressure is normal at home or at school,” Malaga-Dieguez said in a statement.