[Indirect blood pressure measurement in cats with diabetes mellitus, chronic nephropathy and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy].

In the present study blood pressure was measured in cats comparing two indirect methods (oscillometric versus Doppler-sonographic) over a wide pressure range. It was shown, that at the lower pressures Doppler and oscillometric measurements were basically equivalent. However for higher pressures oscillometric measurements were consistently lower than Doppler measurements. This difference became greater as blood pressure increased. The determination of blood pressure by the Doppler-sonographic method was always possible, whereas the measurement by the oscillometric method was often not possible, especially at higher blood pressure levels. In a second step, the frequency of hypertension was determined in cats with diabetes mellitus, chronic renal failure and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Eight cats with diabetes mellitus had oszillometric blood pressure values of 101-155 mmHg systolic, 42-105 mmHg diastolic and 65-125 mmHg mean arterial pressure determined at the front leg and 110-167 mmHg systolic, 44-98 mmHg diastolic, and 61-125 mean arterial pressure determined at the tail. The Doppler-sonographic values were 120-180 mmHg. Only the oscillometric measurement (at the tail) of the systolic pressure was significantly higher than that of normal cats. In 11 cats with chronic renal failure the following values were determined by the oszillometric method: at the front leg 137-182 mmHg systolic, 74-138 mmHg diastolic, 100-162 mmHg mean arterial pressure and at the tail 134-189 mmHg systolic, 53-109 mmHg diastolic, 80-135 mmHg mean arterial pressure. With the Doppler-sonographic technique the blood pressure was between 120 and 280 mmHg. All blood pressure measurements were significantly higher than those of healthy cats, except the oscillometric measurements of diastolic blood pressure. In 12 cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy systolic pressure was 108-179 mmHg, diastolic pressure was 64-135 mmHg, and mean arterial pressure was 89-154 mmHg at the front leg using the oscillometric method. At the tail results were as follows: 121-201 mmHg systolic, 61-141 mmHg diastolic, and 85-160 mmHg mean arterial pressure. By the Doppler-sonographic technique determined blood pressure was 110-260 mmHg. All oscillometric measurements except the diastolic pressure determined at the front leg were significantly higher than in normal cats. Four cats with chronic renal failure and five cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy showed retinal hemorrhages and/or detachments. Eight of this nine cats had blood pressure measurements above the normal range. We conclude that hypertension can be detected in cats with several diseases. In most cases reliable measurements can only be obtained by Doppler-sonographic methods.