High blood pressure can affect cats as well as humans. Since many cats are quite adept at hiding illness, determining whether an animal has high blood pressure can be quite difficult even for the most attentive owners. According to the Cat Hospital of Chicago, stress doesn't play a role in causing high blood pressure (also called hypertension) in felines. Instead, many cases of high blood pressure result from the presence of another factor, such as kidney disease or thyroid issues.
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How Blood Pressure Works
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Just as with human, cats have a heart that pumps blood through the body. This pumping action of the blood is under pressures as it moves through the veins of your pet's body. Blood pressure is measured as pressure exerted against the walls of the arteries of the heart when pumping blood. Blood pressure readings for cats include both a systolic and a diastolic number. Systolic pressure measures the pressure as the heart sends blood out into the body during contraction. Diastolic pressure measures the heart in a relaxed state as the heart accumulates blood. These two numbers can give your vet an accurate reading of any instance of hypertension in your cat.
Feline High Blood Pressure
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High blood pressure often affects older animals that have a pre-existing condition such as hyperthyroidism or kidney disease, according to the Cat Hospital of Chicago. When paired with any disease, treatment becomes complicated. However, in both cases, hypertension can be treated in conjunction with disease treatment to get your cat's high blood pressure under control. High blood pressure adversely affects a cat's heart and kidneys as well as the multitude of blood vessels throughout the body. Increased pressure of the blood circulating weakens the vessels, causing potential ruptures that are commonly seen with vision issues in untreated cases.
Signs and Symptoms
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Cats are so good at hiding illness that high blood pressure often isn't diagnosed until the animal is exhibiting severe symptoms. Some cats also have no symptoms at all to indicate hypertension. Cats with high blood pressures often have vision issue such as dilated pupils, blood in the front eye chamber or degrees of blindness. Depression, seizures and lethargy are also symptoms of high blood pressure. The most common sign of high blood pressure in a cat lies in evaluating vision conditions. Dilated pupils are frequently the most obvious sign of the existence of high blood pressure. Untreated cases can result in detachment of the retina in the eyes.
Treatment
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Vets have many drugs available to help control high blood pressure in cats. Once your animal shows signs and symptoms, contacting your vet for a full check up is imperative. Your vet will monitor blood pressure and check for the underlying health issues of hyperthyroidism and kidney disease. Treatment involves a two-fold approach of stabilizing both the disease and the high blood pressure. Chicago's Cat Hospital states that medications won't cure the animal of high blood pressure but will help control blood pressure to increase quality of life. Vets also recommended diet changes to reduce sodium intake to help control the blood pressure as well.
Importance of Regular Vet Visits
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As a cat ages, it present very different behaviors than when the cat was young, agile and healthy. Many people see their cats slowing down as they age, without realizing that this slow down can mean a dramatic change in health. Vigilance on the part of owners is key to diagnosing and treating high blood pressure in cats as well as a variety of other ailments.
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