BLOOD PRESSURE MEASUREMENT

Even our dogs and cats can suffer from high blood pressure.
It frequently occurs in the course of some diseases, such as chronic kidney or heart disease, overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism), diabetes (diabetes mellitus) or other endocrine (internal) diseases.

Since it deals essentially with disorders in elderly patients, a blood pressure measurement is an important part of the annual examination - especially for cats.

Untreated high blood pressure draws damage to major organs:

- Eye: Through retinal changes and detachment, bleeding occurs in the eye and leads to blindness.
- Heart: High blood pressure leads to a thickening of heart walls in the left ventricle.
- Kidney: The kidneys are heavily burdened, which leads to kidney failure.
- CNS: In the central nervous system, high blood pressure can cause bleeding with subsequent angina attack, seizures and strokes. 

Symptoms of high blood pressure can be very indicative or non-specific. In any case, you should contact your veterinarian if you notice that your pet shows:

- Sudden blindness
- Dilated pupils, also unilaterally
- Bleeding in the eye
- Depression
- Cramps
- Excessive vocalizing
- Bleeding nose
- Anorexia
- Behavioral changes
- Increased drinking and urination

How do we perform the blood pressure measurement?

The procedure is completely painless for your pet and takes about 1 minute if the patient keeps still.
We apply a blood pressure cuff on the left front leg and hold a Doppler probe to the inner surface of the paw near an artery. The acoustic signal of the blood flow disappears during cuff inflation and the appropriate blood pressure is read on the gauge when the signal completely disappears.

The treatment of high blood pressure is by means of antihypertensive drugs and should be monitored at regular intervals.

Protect your pet from the late effects of high blood pressure!