Background:The issue as to whether white coat hypertension is a pathologically significant entity, with associated target organ changes, or that the condition carries the same risk for target organ involvement as normotension, is undecided. Previous studies which have shown pathological correlates between white coat hypertension and target organ damage have not controlled for the most obvious confounder, mean 24 h blood pressure (BP). Methods and results: In this study we retrospectively identified 33 age and sex-matched pairs, one group with normal BP, the other with white coat hypertension. The white coat hypertensive group showed significantly greater left ventricular mass indexed for body surface area than normal controls (99.0 g/m 2 vs 78.3 g/m 2 , P Ͻ

Infusion of low doses of ANP into humans on an ad libitum salt diet results in vasoconstriction of the microcirculation, probably on the venular side. The lack of effect of ANP on the microcirculation during low salt diet may be related to a higher vascular tone prior to infusion.

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