According to Blood Pressure UK, white coat syndrome is, ‘when your blood pressure is raised due to the stress of being in a clinic, so your reading is higher than it would be if you measured it at home. 

The name is derived from the personal protective equipment (PPE) traditionally worn by doctors (and is presumably one of the reasons why clinicians are often seen in green and blue get-ups these days.)

Most people are more tense than usual in medical settings and might not even realise it meaning that blood pressure can be raised even if they don’t feel stressed.’

Before I read this official version I thought this syndrome was purely psychological. You know the scene, where the doctor lowers their half-moon reading specs further down their nose, looks you in the eye and gives the verdict. Heart-in-mouth, butterflies in the stomach and all that.  

I hadn’t, however, connected all the above with a change in blood pressure but now I have realised there’s a link, the blood pressure angle becomes very interesting essentially because blood pressure can be measured. 

Fear can be measured!

A similar but opposite syndrome is the placebo effect. This, according to the Francis Crick Institute in London is the sensation of ‘feeling better after taking a ‘dummy drug’, simply because you expected it to work.’

I am sure that you have found, as have I, that being told by a doctor, perhaps the same one with the pince-nez above, that ‘you’re fine’, is enough to calm your concerns and in turn, this good news can lower blood pressure.

So once again, we have a way of measuring the facts. Both negative and positive beliefs can be measured in terms of changes in blood pressure. 

Which brings me to religion.

I’m not a great fan of organised religion and I wanted to reiterate (this is not a new perspective) how it is a conglomerate of what I see as false constructs and fanciful unproven myths designed to give comfort, and thereby control over the swathes of people who have inherited the earth.

Frustratingly for me, however, after some rudimentary web browsing, my argument has partially collapsed. 

Essentially, participation in religious practice by those who believe in them can reduce tension and lower blood pressure. Furthermore, scientific research in the shape of the London Ramadan Study showed how controlled fasting and discipline over the month of ritual participation can support weight loss, reduce fat deposits and, you guessed, lower blood pressure. 

I recently attended a religious funeral and noted how the ritual and structure of the event offered mourners a combination of calmness and practicality. I saw how the offspring of the deceased could go through the sad process of delivering eulogies, walking to the grave and being present for the internment with composure. It all flowed in a way that was second nature and clear.

I have no idea to what extent the mourners were believers, but I have to admit that the structure I set out to criticise provided great personal and psychological solidity and doubtless, reduced blood pressure too.

Well, I’ll be damned.

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