Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
High aldosterone linked to low blood pressure and kidney issues
By Gójska-Zygner, Olga & Zygner, Wojciech·Published in The veterinary quarterly·2015·a Multiwet Small Animal Health Clinic·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Hyperaldosteronism and its association with hypotension and azotaemia in canine babesiosis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 14 dogs infected with Babesia canis (a parasite that can cause severe illness) showed signs of low blood pressure and kidney problems. In this study, researchers found that only a few of these dogs had high levels of aldosterone, a hormone that helps regulate blood pressure and potassium levels. The dogs with babesiosis had significantly lower blood pressure compared to healthy dogs, and their aldosterone levels were linked to their kidney function. Unfortunately, the increased aldosterone did not seem to help improve their blood pressure or kidney health effectively.
People also search for: dog babesiosis symptoms · low blood pressure in dogs · treatment for dog kidney problems · aldosterone levels in dogs
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The previous work on canine babesiosis revealed hypokalaemia and increased fractional excretion of potassium in infected dogs suggesting a role for aldosterone in the loss of potassium via the kidneys in affected dogs. Moreover, hypotension, which is one of the complications of canine babesiosis leading to renal failure, may induce secondary hyperaldosteronism. ANIMALS AND METHODS: In this study, the serum aldosterone concentration was determined in 14 dogs infected with Babesia canis. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare serum aldosterone concentration and blood pressure between these dogs and 10 healthy dogs. Spearman's rank correlations between serum aldosterone concentration and blood pressure and between serum aldosterone and urea and creatinine concentrations were calculated. RESULTS: Increased concentrations of aldosterone above reference intervals were observed in only 4 out of the 14 dogs. The results showed significantly (p < 0.05) higher serum aldosterone concentrations and lower blood pressures in infected dogs in comparison to healthy dogs, and significantly negative correlations between aldosterone concentration and systolic arterial pressure (r = -0.63), diastolic arterial pressure (r = -0.67) and mean arterial pressure (r = -0.65). Serum aldosterone concentration was also significantly correlated with serum urea concentration (r = 0.72), serum creatinine concentration (r = 0.69) and serum potassium concentration (r = -0.57). CONCLUSION: The results of this study show hyperaldosteronism in some cases of canine babesiosis as a possible response to hypotension. However, both the hypotension and severe azotaemia observed in dogs infected with B. canis and associated hyperaldosteronaemia suggest that this response is insufficient.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25347616/