Under Pressure or Over Pressure?
My Blood Pressure (BP) certainly experienced some alarming fluctuations earlier this summer, when I was returning home at dusk after playing the opening cricket match of the season. As I approached my driveway, I was astonished to see two ponies standing unattended in the road. If I hadn’t been driving, I would have attributed this apparition to a couple of pints of strong cider, but given my sobriety, there was no denying that these equines were quite literally present “in the flesh”.
My immediate concern was obviously the possibility of an accident on the road – and this was shared by another driver who pulled over coming from the opposite direction. The ponies were understandably a little skittish, with no headcollars or evidence of their origin – I suspect that their
blood pressure – as well as mine - was probably well above normal, fuelled by some fight or flight adrenaline. Together, we managed to herd them off the road and into my driveway, after which I went across to a neighbour who had some stables to see if they were down a couple of occupants. Unfortunately they were unable to help and on return, there was no sign of the ponies or their temporary warden. Assuming that maybe their rightful owner had turned up, I headed to my house only to find that the ponies had progressed from driveway into my garden where they had found more bountiful fare in the form of our flower bed - cue another spike in BP! I suspect that my erstwhile helper had understandably seen the opportunity to relinquish his responsibility in favour of the home-owner and taken a quick exit!
Lacking any pony paraphernalia, I then spent the next 10 minutes trying to catch the ponies with DIY headcollars made from dog leads. The first was quite easy to catch with an outstretched hand containing a dandelion leaf. The second was more wily and made a bolt back towards the road causing an alarming spike in my BP which certainly took it well above 120/80. Luckily my own fight or flight kicked in and I was able loop my dog lead around its neck and with the reassurance of something around its neck the pony was happy to be restrained. We were able to find a stable for the night (nativity style!) and the ponies were repatriated from where they had escaped the next day – crisis averted!
While my BP fluctuations were situational, persistently high blood pressure (hypertension) can cause insidious disease in pets as well as their human counterparts. Hypertension is more common in cats than dogs, with a recent study estimating 23% of cats over the age of 9 to be affected. Hypertension is often secondary to other conditions such as kidney disease, heart or thyroid disease, but can also be primary. The concern is that it is often not apparent until the condition has significantly progressed – often with serious consequences such as blindness caused by bleeding behind the eye, neurological signs if the brain is affected, or fainting, collapse and breathing issues if the heart is affected.
The good news is that there are lots of treatment options for hypertension and the best way to tackle it is to treat before any of the serious signs above occur. This means checking blood pressure in older / high risk cats routinely – as is the case in many doctors surgeries. This October we’re focusing on hypertension in cats and offering blood pressure checks with our nurses on any cat over 9 years for only £20. If your cat is on the Practice Health Plan, then the checks are FREE! If you have any further questions, or would like to book an appointment, then please contact us.
