Admission test for the degree course in medicine and surgery 2012-2013

Domanda 24 di 80

Health services should find better ways to take blood pressure readings for patients thought to be suffering from high blood pressure (hypertension). One third of patients thought to have high blood pressure may actually have 'white coat' hypertension, according to a new study. 'White coat' hypertension means that a patient's blood pressure is high at the doctor's surgery, probably due to anxiety, but normal in everyday life. In the study, patients said to have hypertension had their blood pressure measured in a normal environment; more than one third of these patients' blood pressures were in the normal range when they were at home or participating in their usual activities. It is worrying that patients are being treated with drugs with some negative side effects to reduce high blood pressure which they do not actually have. Which one of the following best expresses the conclusion of the argument above?