Veterinary Practices Urged To Take Feline Blood Pressure!
6 years ago 
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Veterinary practices are being urged to routinely take feline blood pressure at least once a year in cats over seven years of age, as recommended by ISFM (International Society of Feline Medicine)1.
The move follows recent research by Ceva Animal Health2 which revealed that over 90% of veterinary surgeons agreed treating hypertension, in its own right, was beneficial. Senior cats have an increased risk of hypertension and vets have a high awareness as nearly 90% believed that senior cats would benefit clinically if they monitored blood pressure routinely in their senior years, and nearly 85% stated that anti-hypertensive medication would increase the quality of life for their patients. Time constraints were cited as the main barrier to routinely measuring blood pressure, but all of those questioned would be happy for a trained RVN to measure blood pressure in cats.
Known as the ‘silent killer’ because there are no early warning signs, hypertension is a common and potentially devastating condition affecting one in eight cats over nine years old3. The risk increases as cats age or if cats have other conditions such as chronic kidney disease (where one in three cats suffer with hypertension) or overactive thyroid disease (where an estimated one in four cats suffer with hypertension)4, 5, 6.
“High blood pressure can cause severe damage to key body organs including the eyes, kidneys, heart and brain,” explains Rosanne Jepson, specialist in small animal internal medicine at the Royal Veterinary College. “Unfortunately, it is a condition that develops insidiously without early warning signs for the cat owner; a cat may seem perfectly fine until either the blood pressure is checked, or serious consequences of hypertension suddenly occur.”
With this in mind, Ceva Animal Health has launched this May the inaugural Feline Hypertension Month, to raise awareness of hypertension and improve the detection and management of high blood pressure in cats. As part of the campaign, veterinary surgeons are being urged to measure their feline patients’ blood pressure at least once a year if they are over seven years of age, as recommended by ISFM (International Society of Feline Medicine)1.
Ceva will be launching the largest European study into feline hypertension this year named the ‘Mercury Challenge’ and is encouraging veterinary practices to sign up to this feline blood pressure study which takes place this summer.
For information on feline hypertension, Feline Hypertension Month or the Mercury Challenge please contact your local Ceva Animal Health account manager.
References
- Taylor et al. ISFM consensus guidelines on the diagnosis and management of hypertension, Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery (2017).
- Ceva Market Research into The Veterinary Perceptions of Feline Hypertension, 100 U.K. Vets. March 2017.
- Jepson et al, Evaluation of predictors of the development of azotemia in cats, JVIM, 2009;23(4):806-813.
- Sansom et al (2004) Blood pressure assessment in healthy cats and cats with hypertensive retinopathy AJVR 65; 245-252.
- Syme H.M., Barber P.J., Markwell P.J., and Elliott J., Prevalence of systolic hypertension in cats with chronic renal failure at initial evaluation, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 2002;220:1799-1804.
- Huhtinen M. et al, (2015) Randomized Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial of a Chewable Formulation of Amlodipine for the Treatment of Hypertension in Client-Owned Cats, JVIM, 29:786-793.
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