Mark Pizarro - page 4

Mark Pizarro has 32 articles published.

Does Your Cat have High Blood Pressure?

5 years ago in Community Insight/Regular feature

High blood pressure/ hypertension is a condition that is often undiagnosed in cats, unfortunately, if not diagnosed early it can have devastating effects on the afflicted feline.

Hypertension in cats can be primary hypertension, where the cause is not known or secondary hypertension; in cats the most common ailments implicated in secondary hypertension are renal failure and hyperthyroidism. However this might be an oversimplification as hypertension can result in renal damage, often when the cat is presented for examination the cat has renal insufficiency and hypertension, so what came first, the chicken or the egg?

In my experience the most common presenting sign is sudden onset blindness or reduced vision. So generally a client will bring in a geriatric cat that has gone blind over a short period of time. On examination these cats will have acute ocular changes, generally retinal haemorrhages and/or retinal detachment. These patients respond well to treatment, so if you have an old cat that has gone blind, don’t attribute it to old age, get it to your veterinary surgeon fast( make sure they have the equipment to measure blood pressure). The sooner your pet is treated the better the prognosis and the greater the chance of it recovering its vision.

However these are not the only presenting signs, in summary if your cat presents with any of the following symptoms make sure you get its blood pressure checked:

  • Weight loss
  • Increased drinking/urination
  • lameness(hind limbs)
  • Blood in urine
  • Protein in urine
  • Heart murmurs
  • Blindness
  • Circling
  • Seizure
  • Haemorrhage in eye
  • Dilated pupils
  • Disorientation
  • Enlarged thyroid glands.

One of the most common ailments of the geriatric feline is renal disease, if your cat is suffering from this or is diagnosed with this then it is important that its blood pressure is measured too to make sure that this is not a complicating factor.

Measuring your cat’s blood pressure is a non-invasive procedure normally done during a standard consultation. However if your cat is very agitated or nervous you must take this into account when taking a reading and take this into consideration.

150/95 – at this reading or below, there is minimal risk and treatment is not recommended

150/99 to 159/95 — intervention is routinely not recommended at these readings

160/119 to 179/100 — treatment should be sought to limit the risk of organ damage

180/120 — immediate treatment should be sought to limit the degree of other more severe complications

Another very useful tool frequently used is the measuring of urine protein, when blood pressure is high

proteins are ‘pushed through’ the kidney filter system , so high protein in the urine can be a great aid in the diagnosis of hypertension and also useful as a prognostic indicator.

Early diagnosis is ideal, if caught early before any further organ damage then simply dosing your cat once a day with medication can be enough to prevent any further deterioration and will extend your cat’s life substantially.

High blood pressure is not a condition to be ignored, if you have an aging cat, from the age of 10 + then ask your vet to take its blood pressure and ideally provide the vet with a urine sample. Managed well hypertension is easily controlled and your cat will lead a normal life, left untreated and it will eventually cause irreversible organ damage and will shorten your pet’s life.

If you feel your pet is suffering from the above please phone the clinic on 20077334 and make an appointment to discuss your case.

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Brachycephalic Syndrome

5 years ago in Community Insight/Features
Brachycephalic Syndrome
Brachycephalic Syndrome
Brachycephalic Syndrome
Brachycephalic Syndrome

This is a medical condition that affects short snouted dogs and cats. Brachycephalic breeds are particularly common nowadays with a massive increase in numbers of French bulldogs, pugs and Staffordshire bull terriers.

As a direct result of this increase in these breeds we are seeing a rise in cases of animals suffering from Brachycephalic Syndrome. What this effectively means is that there is an airway obstruction in these pets that results in these animals having to make more of an inspiratory effort when they breathe.

There are four main anatomical deformities that cause this constriction:

  • Stenotic nares
  • Elongated soft palate
  • Everted laryngeal saccules
  • Narrow (hypoplastic) trachea

Stenotic nares:

This problem is visually obvious and can be seen in a normal consult. Looking at the nose the nasal folds are collapsed inwards, as a direct result of this the animals have a constricted airway, which would be like trying to breathe through your nose whilst pinching your nostrils.

Elongated Soft Palate:

At the back of the mouth on the dorsal aspect behind the hard palate lies the soft palate, a tissue that acts like a valve preventing food going up the back of the nasal cavity. In these problematic breeds there is often a problem where the soft palate is too long and fleshy and this results in a restriction of air flow through the pharyngeal area.

Everted laryngeal saccules:

At the entrance to the trachea in the larynx there are laryngeal saccules. Due to negative inspiratory pressure in animals suffering with stenotic nares and the elongated soft palates, this often results in eversion of the saccules, this in turn further compounds the narrow airway. This element of the condition can be prevented in many cases if surgical correction of the nares and palate are tackled early.

Narrow hypoplastic tracheas:

 This is pretty much self explanatory and there is nothing much that can be done with these cases. These animals will also always have a respiratory problem. Consequences of the above can be catastrophic for the animal. The increased respiratory effort over a long period of time has knock on effects on the cardiovascular system, and long term will cause heart failure and chronic respiratory problems.

Signs/ Symptoms to look out for:

  • Loud inspiratory noise
  • Mouth breathing
  • Very little exercise tolerance/collapse
  • Narrow nares
  • Sleep apnoea
  • Snoring
  • Regurgitation /choking/vomiting
  • Cyanosis (blue tongue)

Treatment

With advances in veterinary medicine and equipment, surgery of the nares and the elongated soft palate can be done with very little risk to the pet. It is very important that this is done early when the dogs are still young as this will mitigate long term damage to the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. THIS IS NOT A CONDITION TO IGNORE UNTIL AN ANIMAL GETS OLDER. Surgery is not 100% curative due to the major anatomical problems but they will alleviate symptoms and will extend the life of your pet.

At the Gibraltar Veterinary Clinic we have invested heavily on a laser machine to undertake laser surgery, this means that soft palate surgery is as safe as spaying your pet, there is practically no bleeding and there is very little damage to the surrounding tissue. Therefore there is hardly any post-operative swelling; this was often the problem with the older more primitive techniques.

In summary Brachycephalic Syndrome is a common ailment of brachycephalic breeds that if left will substantially decrease the lifespan of your pet. If you feel your pet is suffering from the above please phone the clinic on 20077334 and make an appointment to discuss your case. Don’t ignore it, surgical correction could extend your pet’s life.

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