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Posted: 14th September 2023

Vets may miss signs of hypertension in cats, study finds
“The good news is that some of the barriers identified in the study can be overcome by taking a ‘practice makes perfect’ attitude"- Dr Sarah Caney
73 per cent struggled to interpret ocular findings.

A study has found that many veterinary surgeons and nurses may be missing key markers of hypertension in cats, including ocular signs and blood pressure (BP) tests.

The survey was answered by 630 veterinary professionals, of which 572 were UK-based, investigating their experiences with BP assessments in cats.

It revealed that, despite 97.3 per cent of those surveyed having access to a BP monitor, 40 per cent of participants were only recommending BP checks to any of the cats that visited their clinic once a month.

The study, led by Dr Sarah Caney with Professor Danielle Gunn-Moore, suggested that some veterinary professionals were encountering time and technology-related barriers to completing BP tests.

Veterinary professionals reporting having difficulties hearing a good pulse signal as well as experiencing ‘cuff frustration’, where the cuff was pinging off. 73 per cent felt they lacked time to conduct blood pressure tests.

The questionnaire also investigated how veterinary professionals approached ocular examinations, which involves examining a cat’s eyes for signs of ocular target organ damage (TOD) that can often occur as a result of hypertension.

While almost 90 per cent of veterinary professionals said they routinely recommended BP assessment after identifying signs of ocular TOD, 73.1 per cent said they sometimes lacked the ability to interpret ocular findings.

The research finds that, while veterinary professionals show strong awareness of hypertension, there are barriers to their ability to identify it using BP monitoring and ocular examinations.

Dr Sarah Caney, a specialist in feline medicine, said: “The good news is that some of the barriers identified in the study can be overcome by taking a ‘practice makes perfect’ attitude towards taking blood pressure, in that the more experience vet professionals have, the easier the procedure will become.

“The study showed many VNs are confident and enthusiastic about blood pressure assessment in cats; this should be encouraged and expanded upon to ensure that as many older cats and those with conditions increasing their risk of hypertension, receive the BP monitoring they deserve. VNs and vets should be encouraged to ‘upskill’ their eye examination skills, as this can be extremely helpful in identifying cats with hypertension.”

The full study can be found in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, and was supported by Ceva Animal Health.

Image © Shutterstock



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