Project Title: Examining White Coat Hypertension and Considering the Effectiveness of Neurohacking on Remediating the Condition
BASIS Advisor: Dr. Allison James
Internship Location: Manhattan Integrative Cardiovascular
Doctor’s offices make everyone nervous, but for some, physician anxiety is more than sweaty palms and shaky limbs: it can lead to a higher mortality rate and a decreased quality of life. White coat hypertension refers to a condition in which an individual's blood pressure (BP) becomes elevated solely when they are in the presence of medical staff or in a medical environment, but returns to normal when they are in non-medical settings. This elevated blood pressure can be a precursor to more fatal heart disease, and prevent the patient from receiving proper medical care. Within my study, I will research ways to remediate white coat hypertension using simplistic neurohacking - specifically focusing on the practices of expressing gratitude and listening to calming music - both of which have been shown to reduce anxiety and cardiac stress. I will conduct my experiment in a cardiology office where I will see patients with a history of white coat hypertension. As part of my experimental plan, I will instruct participating patients to listen to music and write short responses on what they feel thankful for before a BP reading. Then, I will compare the BP reading to previous measurements within their patient files. The results of my experiment will show if easy neurohacking methods can be implemented into medical practices to alleviate this serious cardiac condition. White coat hypertension affects 1 in 5 adults, and discovering applicable and realistic ways to improve medical experiences and treatment for those affected can have a positive impact on all who visit the doctor.
My Posts
Week 12: Concluding Blog
Hello and welcome back to my blog! This will be my final post, as my senior project has concluded. This project has taught me so much about organizing research and managing my time. The senior project has grown and solidified my interest in healthcare and neuroscience, both of which I plan to pursue further in […]
Week 10
Welcome to week 10!! For the majority of this week, I worked on drafting and formatting the senior project deliverable – my research paper. Within the paper, I will explain the background behind my research, as well as the methods I have used within my experiment and the results I have found over the […]
Week 9
Hello and welcome to week 9! This week I worked on organizing my data by creating graphs, finding averages, and calculating standard deviations. As I did this, I started to notice emerging trends. While not being of statistical significance, both diastolic and systolic blood pressure for each patient was lower after their participation in […]
Week 8
Hello and welcome to week 8! This week I finished my experiment! In total I have 31 participants: the overwhelming majority of my participants are above 70, half are female, and all of them have some form of hypertension – including white coat hypertension. I have also managed to have around 50% of […]
Week 7
Hello and welcome to week 7 of my blog!! My experiment is coming to a close! As I have begun to finish collecting data, I have noticed preliminary trends indicating the effectiveness of gratitude reflection and music listening. According to the National Institute of Health, “normal blood pressure for most adults is defined […]
Week 6
Welcome back! It’s already week 6! This week I focused mainly on continuing my experiment by interviewing more people and collecting more data. I have continued to ask my experimental questions verbally instead of through a written response sheet, and I am still considering the impact of gender bias within my study. As the […]
Week 5
Welcome to week 5!! This week I continued to work on the experiment and research aspects of my study that could affect my results, specifically focusing on women’s treatments in medicine historically and in the modern day. Historically, medicine has been male-dominated, with little to no female participation. Even going back as far […]
Week 4
Welcome to week 4 of my blog! This week, I focused on researching the components and multiple benefits of gratitude expression in preparation for understanding the results of my experiment and writing my research paper. Gratitude expression is a common practice used to calm the mind and body, and it can present itself in […]
Week 3
Hello and welcome back to my blog! This week was the first week of my experiment. Despite having found many potential patients in the last few weeks, the patients without diagnosed hypertension and a potential history of whitecoat hypertension turned out to be more limited than I had expected. Most of the patients who […]
Week 2
Hello and welcome back to my blog! This week I began going to my on-site location to survey patients and gain data for my experiment. I have edited my survey since last week to make sure that it is readable, especially because English is a second language for many of the patients I will be […]
Week 1
Welcome back to my blog! This week I focused on preparing for my experiment that will begin as I transition into my onsite placement starting next week. Using previous experiments and guidelines from the National Institute of Health, I created a comprehensive – yet understandable – survey that will be passed out to patients at […]
Week 0: Introduction
Hello! Welcome to my blog! My name is Isabella Bolon and I am a senior at BASIS Independent Brooklyn. My senior project will focus on white coat hypertension and the possibility of remediating it with neurohacking. White coat hypertension (WCH) is a cardiac condition in which blood pressure levels are measured to be higher in […]