Blood pressure measurement is recommended once a year for senior pets and twice a year for geriatric pets and pets that have a heart murmur.

Blood pressure measurement is performed similarly to the way it is in humans. An inflatable cuff is fit snugly around the foot or foreleg of the pet. Sometimes the base of the tail can be used. The cuff is inflated so as to occlude blood flow through the superficial artery. In a person, as the cuff is slowly deflated, a stethoscope is used to listen for the point when the blood pressure is adequate to pump through the partially occluded vessel. This point on the pressure gauge is the systolic blood pressure. The cuff is further deflated until the vessel is open and no more sounds are made. This point represents the diastolic blood pressure.

In animals, a stethoscope is not sensitive enough to detect this level, so an ultrasonic probe (Doppler) must be taped or held over the artery. Using ultrasound, the sound of the systolic pressure is converted into an audible signal. It is not possible to measure diastolic pressure in a pet without actually placing a catheter inside an artery, so we make do with just a systolic measurement. In pets, this measurement should not exceed 160. Any blood pressure over 200 should be treated with medication to prevent damage to the eyes, kidneys, and heart.

Some pets (obviously) are nervous at the vet's office and this factor must be taken into account when reading blood pressure. Taking a blood pressure generally involves several people, a quiet room and 10 to 20 minutes of undivided attention to get a meaningful result. This is why measuring blood pressures in dogs and cats costs more than having our own blood pressure measured. It is possible for a pet to have high blood pressure at the vet's office and normal pressure at all other times. One might think this would be a common situation, but most pets are able to maintain normal blood pressure despite being surrounded by hospital staff.

More information about Hypertension (High Blood Pressure) in our pets from the Veterinary Information Network.

Chest Radiographs

An echocardiogram is an ultrasonic evaluation of the heart function. This is now the "gold standard" for determining the presence and severity of heart dysfunction. This test can be used as a window to the heart, allowing us to see the valves and internal structure of the heart in motion. Measurements will be taken and compared to normal values to help determine the degree of abnormality present, if any. These values aid in determination of a treatment protocol customized for your pet's condition.

This is the most sensitive and specific method of evaluating the heart that is routinely available for pets. Many measurements can be done using this test to evaluate the health of the heart. It is important to note that not every problem can be diagnosed with an echocardiogram, especially arrhythmias and pulmonary congestion diagnosis/evaluation of which require ECG and Chest X-ray respectively. In cats, a murmur is sometimes heard before changes can be determined within the heart, and sometimes murmurs can be due to physiologic changes instead of structural changes within the heart. These are known as innocent murmurs. In both cases the echocardiogram can be normal, which usually has an excellent prognosis.