BP reading interpretation-Dr Lisa need your input

Does anyone know how to interpret BP readings?

 

Re: BP reading interpretation

What do you mean by interpret? Why not post the values and ask for input?

 

Re: BP reading interpretation

ok here are the values i took this afternoon....he's been hiding and not quite himself the last week or so...i figure it is probably from having company over the holidays....so his bp has not been taken in a few months....i decided to do it

the bp machine i have gives systolic/diastolic/map/hr (heart rate)

i managed to take 4 readings before it was too much for him

in order as above mentioned:
1) 170/115/130/160.....he was semi-sleepy laying on the bed/relaxed
2) 220/170/195/165.....semi relaxed/semi agitated...woke up
3) 185/140/160/165.....relaxed/sleepy/laying still on the bed still
4) 210/175/190/175.....woke up/very agitated...started to move his paw

temperature taken was 37.7 C (sorry i don't know what it is in F).....

prior of taking bp he was laying down/sleeping...so i counted the number of breaths per minute and i got 26 counts per minute.....which i have read the normal range is 20-30

can anyone help me determine if i should be pursuing with the vet a hypter-T diagnosis?
what can i make of the above readings?
should i try to take more readings tomorrow?
how often should i take his bp?

i'm sorry if i'm asking too many questions....i'm mentally drained and i don't know what to do....been reading up on hyper-T and with his current illnesses it is a possibility....

advise is very welcomed....help!

 

Re: BP reading interpretation

The temperature is a slightly low or low-normal depending upon where you look but I would not be concerned. The BP is a little high except for the firs set. However, the HR is high especially for 1 & 3 where he was semi sleeping. One symptom of hyperthyroidism is a high HR. Does Rocket have other symptoms such as loosing weight with good appetite? The T4 is bordering on the grey zone my lab uses. Here is what my lab says for T4:
Interpretive ranges:
<0.5 subnormal
0.5-4.7 normal
2.3-4.7 grey zone in old or symptomatic cats
>4.7 consistent with hyperthyroidism

Cats with subnormal T4 values are almost exclusively euthyroid sick or
overtreated for their hyperthyroidism. Older cats with consistent
clinical signs and T4 values in the grey zone may have early
hyperthyroidism or a concurrent non-thyroidal illness. Hyperthyroidism
may be confirmed in these cats by adding on a free T4 or by performing
a T3 suppression test. Following treatment with methimazole, T4 values
will generally fall within the lower end of the reference range
(0.5 - 2.3).

 

Re: BP reading interpretation

Claudia,

With those systolic numbers....IF they are to be believed....then i would be getting him to your vet ASAP. Those values are far too high for my comfort level.

I had one client (also a FDMB member) end up with a blind cat within 1-2 weeks of getting values like that when measured with a monitor at home.

Getting an accurate BP on a cat is not easy....but you have no choice but to assume that they are accurate and i woukd be scheduling an appointment with your vet ASAP to double check those values now....not later.

 

Re: BP reading interpretation

fwiw, here's BP readings for one of my 15 year olds obtained just recently when I noticed his eyes were huge and non-reactive. and i had him in to the vet within 24 hours of noticing his eyes too.

BP: 189/146 HR: 200
BP: 190/143 HR: 204
BP: 189/140 HR: 193

all other causes ruled out for it (kidneys, hyper t, etc....) and he was put on meds and we hoped his eyesight would return. he was diagnosed with primary hypertension

a week later on recheck he was

BP: 156/108 HR: 187
BP: 150/95 HR: 209
BP: 166/85 HR: 197

heart's improving but his eyes are pretty much as good as they're going to get. occasionally he does seem to see a little bit, like another cat walking in front of him but he can't play with toys unless they make noise, he occasionally walks into another cat, and he has to reach out to make sure the couch is really there before he jumps on it. he's actually adapted really well and is getting on with life but you can't help but feel for the big guy sometimes

 

Re: BP reading interpretation

Good thing you did.

Claudia - when can you get Rocket in to see your vet and, if the results are repeatable, on Norvasc?

 

Re: BP reading interpretation

thank you for your input Dr Lisa....the vet is closed this week....all i have is an ER near by....

he is alert and eating fine and he sees me from a distance without me talking to him....his eyes don't seem dilated....he seems normal....how often should i try to do another bp reading on him?

his T4 was normal...sorry i have not converted them to US #s when he had his full blood panel on Nov 1....all i translated was the kidney values and posted them on his spreadsheet....

what is the normal temperature for a cat? i don't take it rectaly i have one of those baby thermometers that i place in the ear....not sure if that's how i should measure the temp.....

do they not show symptoms when they have hyper-T? i read up on Norvasc....no problem pilling him....he is already on so many meds....

he seems ok...shivers some times....not sure if it's from the BG going low i really don't know and he did not have anemia on the lab report....

i'm trying to do things at home before i do the ER thing as CASH is extremely tight....and the vet visit back nov 1 cost me a total of $1K......no vet is going to give me the Rx of norvasc without seeing him even though i can do everything else for him at home....i've been doing subq for him since May08....

i was starting to feel better with him eating and being ok...now i'm reallyb worried sick that things could be a lot worse than i thought....

 

Dr Lisa
i took his bp reading again and this is what i got just now

150/110 map 125 hr 175
155/110 map 125 hr 170
150/120 map 135 hr 175
150/105 map 150 hr 170

i only got 4 readings....he sat thru it all while i brushed his chin (he finds that soothing)....

took his temp and was 36.8 C then took it again a second time and it was 37.1 C

weight Dec 11 was 7.13 kgs and just now Dec 30 was 7.17 kgs

he is eating fine....alert..sociable to a point....

should i still be worried on the above readings???

help!

 

Those are much better systolic values but keep in mind that cats have a normal BP of 120/80 just like us.

We 'allow' them a 40 point increase AT THE VET...due to stress. So a 160 would be borderline.

At home, I would expect him to be lower than 150

Again, this is a very tricky deal because it is NOT easy to get an accurate BP on a cat.

 

Dr Lisa,
the below test was taken on Nov 1, 2010
what does it all mean? the vet never gave me any input on it...

Test: pli/b12/tli

spec PL 7.7 (0-3.5)

B12 2985 (205-1505)

Folate 40.1 (22-55)

TLI - 78.8 (12-82)

 

you use a petMAP? says on their website it'll read higher than a doppler.

http://petmap.com/faq.html
What studies have been done on the petMAP?
Dr. Maynard (Mike) Ramsey, M.D., Ph.D., the inventor of petMAP and a leader in blood pressure measurement device development, has extensive animal research experience. During the development of the petMAP product, he performed many animal BP comparisons in the laboratory of a well respected researcher at the University of Georgia Vet School. Based on those cat and dog experiments, Dr. Ramsey developed algorithms for both species and cuff site optimization to provide petMAP the best possible correlation with directly measured intra-arterial blood pressure (“the gold standard”). The result of these optimizations is that the BP measured with a petMAP will typically be 10-20% higher than those measured with other oscillometric devices and with Doppler devices. If the user wishes un-optimized readings, the BP can be displayed without optimization by pressing the mode switch repeatedly until both the species and the cuff site LEDs are extinguished. The readings thus displayed are un-optimized.

 

Claudia, those are values from a pancreatitis test known as Pancreatic Lipase Immunoreactivity, the PL part, folate is a B vitamin and TLI is Trypsinogen Like Immunoreactivity another test for pancreatitis.

The PLI was elevated - was he diagnosed with pancreatitis? Has he had any spells of not eating well?

Nevermind, I see from your signature that he has been diagnosed with pancreatitis. That test must have been during a flare then.

 

yes vet said it was a flare up
he was eating fine though when that test was done....what prompted me to take him to the vet on nov 1 was his drinking/peeing and his BG was high...so i knew he was coming off remission with his diabetes

i had no idea on the bp monitor i have....i wonder if Rocket's vet has always dismissed my readings at home knowing the info on that monitor.....so many questions.....i posted on the Lantus forum regarding Rocket being at the ER just now....Jan 1....what a way to start off the year