BP LogWhite coat and masked hypertension check
Compare your office and home blood pressure averages against the 130/80 threshold to see whether the pattern is consistent with a white coat effect or masked hypertension.
Compare office and home averages
Use averages, not single readings: the average of your last few office readings, and a home average from a week of morning and evening readings.
No home average yet? The 7-day home average tool builds one, and this page can pick it up.
Enter both averages to compare them.
Four possible patterns
| Office average | Home average | Pattern |
|---|---|---|
| below 130/80 | below 130/80 | Both below the line |
| 130/80 or higher | below 130/80 | Consistent with a white coat effect |
| below 130/80 | 130/80 or higher | Consistent with masked hypertension |
| 130/80 or higher | 130/80 or higher | Both at or above the line |
An average counts as at or above 130/80 when either the top number is 130 or more or the bottom number is 80 or more. The difference shown is office minus home.
Getting good averages
For the office side, average the readings from your last few visits; your patient portal often lists them. For the home side, the 7-day home average builds a guideline-style week of readings, and this page can pick up its result automatically. Our white coat hypertension guide explains why the gap happens and what doctors do about it.
Common questions
What is white coat hypertension?
Blood pressure that is high in the clinic but not at home or on 24-hour monitoring, in someone not taking blood pressure medicine. In someone on treatment, the same pattern is called a white coat effect.
What is masked hypertension?
The reverse: blood pressure that looks fine in the clinic but is high at home. It carries risk similar to high blood pressure seen in both settings, which is why home readings matter even when office readings are normal.
Which threshold does the check use?
130/80 for both office and home averages. The AHA measurement statement and the 2025 guideline treat a home average of 130/80 as matching an office reading of 130/80.
Can this tool tell me I have white coat hypertension?
No. It describes whether your two averages fall on the same side of 130/80. Confirming either pattern usually takes repeated home readings or 24-hour ambulatory monitoring, interpreted by your doctor.
- Muntner P, et al. Measurement of Blood Pressure in Humans: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association (Hypertension, 2019): How to measure; home protocol of 2 readings a minute apart, morning and evening, for 7 days; cuff sizes by arm circumference; white coat and masked hypertension definitions; home 130/80 corresponds to office 130/80
- Jones DW, et al. 2025 AHA/ACC/AANP/AAPA/ABC/ACCP/ACPM/AGS/AMA/ASPC/NMA/PCNA/SGIM Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults (Circulation, 2025): Blood pressure categories (normal under 120/80, elevated 120 to 129 and under 80, stage 1 130 to 139 or 80 to 89, stage 2 140 or 90 and higher); the higher category counts when the two numbers disagree; severe hypertension above 180/120; PREVENT for risk estimation
- Weinfeld JM, Hart KM, Vargas JD. Home blood pressure monitoring (American Family Physician, 2021): Definitions of white coat and masked hypertension; masked hypertension carries risk similar to sustained hypertension
- Self-Measured Blood Pressure: How It Works (Target:BP, AHA and AMA): Morning and evening for 7 consecutive days, two readings one minute apart; home average of 130/80 or higher is in the stage 1 range
The free iPhone app times two readings a minute apart, averages them, keeps your morning and evening numbers apart, and builds a report for your doctor.
Other ways to track: desktop, Excel and printable logs