The alerting reaction to the physician's visit is known to induce a blood pressure rise termed "white coat effect." This phenomenon has often been associated with a clinical condition characterized by a persistently high blood pressure in the doctor's office and a persistently normal blood pressure at other times, a condition commonly referred to as "isolated office hypertension" or "white coat hypertension." In this paper the direct and indirect methods of assessing these phenomena are briefly discussed, together with the sometimes discrepant definitions used when referring to them. The possible clinical relevance of both white coat effect and isolated office hypertension is addressed. © 2003 CVRR, Inc