Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Blood pressure changes in hyperthyroid cats after radioiodine
By Stammeleer, Lisa et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2024·Small Animal Department·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Blood pressure in hyperthyroid cats before and after radioiodine treatment.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 401 hyperthyroid cats was studied to see how their blood pressure changed after receiving radioiodine treatment. Before treatment, about 27% of these cats had high blood pressure, and after treatment, nearly half of those cats returned to normal levels. However, about 51% of the initially hypertensive cats still had high blood pressure six months later, and some cats that were normal before treatment developed high blood pressure afterward. The study suggests that many cats may experience temporary high blood pressure due to stress or anxiety rather than a lasting health issue.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Hyperthyroid cats commonly have systemic hypertension, with a reported prevalence of 7% to 48%. Although hypertension might be expected to resolve once treatment restores euthyroidism, it can persist or only first develop after treatment. OBJECTIVES: To determine the proportion of hyperthyroid cats with hypertension (systolic blood pressure [SBP] ≥160 mm Hg), persistence or first development of hypertension after successful radioiodine treatment, and correlation of post-treatment hypertension with azotemia or hypothyroidism. ANIMALS: Four hundred one hyperthyroid nonazotemic cats were included in the study. METHODS: Prospective, cross-sectional and before-and-after studies. All hyperthyroid cats had SBP measured by Doppler; 255 had SBP rechecked 6 months after successful radioiodine (I) treatment. RESULTS: Of untreated hyperthyroid cats, 108/401 (27%) were hypertensive. A higher proportion of hypertensive cats were nervous/excited compared with normotensive cats (47% vs 12%; P < .001). Of the initially hypertensive cats, 87/108 cats were reexamined afterI treatment; 43/87 (49%) cats normalized SBP, whereas 44/87 (51%) remained hypertensive. Of the initially normotensive cats, 16/168 (9.5%) first developed hypertension after successfulI treatment. 7/60 (12%) of theI-treated hypertensive cats were azotemic and 9/60 (15%) were hypothyroid. A higher proportion of cats remaining hypertensive had nervous/excited demeanor than did normotensive cats (50% vs 17%; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS/CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Hypertension, when present, resolves in many hyperthyroid cats after successful treatment. Hyperthyroid cats uncommonly develop new hypertension after treatment. Persistent or newly detected hypertension was unrelated to azotemia or iatrogenic hypothyroidism. More frequently perceived nervousness/anxiety in radioiodine-treated hypertensive cats suggests that many of these cats might have "situational" hypertension, as hyperthyroid-induced hypertension should resolve after treatment.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38440934/