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Blood pressure monitoring
Blood pressure monitoring in dogs
also see medical procedures
Blood pressure monitoring in dogsQ: Dr. Mike
My 8 year old JR terrier was diagnosed with grade III/VI systolic murmur
recently, and during the exam, her blood pressure was taken. Her systolic
pressure was 180. The examining Veterinarian suggested that we have a
follow-up reading taken a few weeks later for comparison to see if her
pressure was consistently high.
I was wondering why blood pressure is not routinely checked in dogs.
Wouldn't there be a benefit to this exam? I have noticed that few clinics
in my area have the equipment to perform this exam, and wondered why that
was.
Thanks in advance for any light you might shed on this subject. I haven't
seen this discussed anywhere else.
Maureen
A: Maureen-
Blood pressure monitoring in dogs and cats will become more common as time
goes on. At present there are some problems with equipment and there does
not seem to be a clear consensus on blood pressure normal values.It is harder to measure blood pressure in dogs and cats than it is in
humans because of the variances in size, anatomy and willingness to sit
still and allow the process to take place. There are three methods for
obtaining reasonably accurate blood pressure measurement.The oldest and most accurate is placement of a catheter directly into the
artery and direct measurement of the pressure using a manometer. Most vets
are not really anxious to place arterial catheters in patients for routine
monitoring of blood pressure.Two methods of "indirect" blood pressure measurement are also used. One
uses a Doppler system and the other an oscillometric system. The
oscillometric system is probably more accurate but doesn't work well for
pets weighing less than fifteen pounds making it impractical for use in
most cats and many small dogs. It measures both systolic and diastolic
pressure. The Doppler system only measures systolic pressure. It can be
used in any size patient but is not considered to be as accurate and
requires a trained operator.The definition of hypertension varies from reference to reference. Dr.
Morgan's "Handbook of Small Animal Practice" lists the range for normal
arterial blood pressure as 130 to 180 for systolic pressure and 60 to 100
for diastolic pressure and makes no distinction between dogs and cats. I
have seen references that suggest that anything over 120 may be
hypertension in the cat and that the high end of normal systolic pressure
in the dog may be as high as 210. Blood pressure is known to vary among
breeds of dogs and that may explain some of the reported differences.Blood pressure devices cost between $900 and $3500 new. It is possible to
buy oscillometric units used from the human market and modify the cuffs for
pets but the savings aren't all that great after doing that and the
machines are more sensitive to the human blood pressure ranges which are
lower than those of pets making them a little more inaccurate for vets. To
be able to monitor blood pressure with reasonable accuracy the cuffs must
be correctly sized.One of the problems with veterinary medicine is that this cost must be
recovered in some manner and the office visit price is usually competitive
in veterinary medicine so that isn't a good place to make it up. But people
are used to having their blood pressure taken as part of an office visit at
their doctor's so a separate charge can be hard to justify, too. So vets
are buying one or two machines that are probably not going to be money
makers and for which the accuracy is a little questionable and normal
values hard to find. Many vets, looking at all of this, opt not to buy the
machines.I have to admit at this point that I am one of the vets who has opted not
buy a blood pressure monitor. It is next on my list of equipment to
purchase but I keep hoping that someone will come out with a machine that
works easily in cats and larger dogs and has less room for operator error.With all of that said, I think your vet should be commended for taking a
progressive course and at least trying to monitor blood pressure. Unless
some of us do that and pioneer the effort there never will be more accurate
information and better machines.Mike Richards, DVM
Last edited 01/30/05