Blood Pressure Evaluation in Dogs by the Method Doppler and Oscillometric

Abstract

Blood pressure is currently a very important tool for clinical and veterinary surgery, especially in monitoring patients under anesthesia and in emergency situations. Hypertension can cause a number of changes in the body of dogs and cats, especially those who are middle-aged and elderly. In veterinary medicine, the blood pressure can be measured non-invasively and invasively. The non-invasive, or indirect technique, is frequently used during routine examinations since it presents convenience as it can be carried out quickly, although it is less accurate. For this research 245 dogs were selected, with one to ten years of age, of both sexes, castrated and uncastrated of different breeds and body scores. The dogs were weighed and had the body condition score determined using the system of 9 points, being categorized into: Control group, overweight group or obese group. Systolic blood pressure was obtained by non-invasive method using the Doppler flowmeter and the oscillometric method. 48 animals were excluded due to the high variability of values, with systolic blood pressure greater than 160 mm•Hg, as well as uncooperative and/or aggressive patients. There was agreement between both methods in 197 dogs conscious and asymptomatic and, therefore, this study showed that oscillometric method can be used in normotensive patients as the study was conducted in patients of different sizes, breeds, ages, body scores and sexual status.