Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Ultrasound shows stiffer abdominal aorta in hypertensive dogs
By Corda, Andrea et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2020·Department of Veterinary Medicine, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Ultrasonographic assessment of abdominal aortic elasticity in hypertensive dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 50 dogs showing signs of high blood pressure (hypertension) were examined using ultrasound to measure the stiffness of their abdominal aorta, which can be affected by this condition. The study found that the aorta was significantly stiffer in the hypertensive dogs compared to those with normal blood pressure. This stiffness was measured using specific calculations based on the aorta's size during different phases of the heartbeat. The findings suggest that this ultrasound method could help veterinarians assess aorta stiffness in dogs with hypertension, especially when blood pressure readings are unreliable.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Systemic hypertension (SH) is a persistent and pathological increase in arterial blood pressure (BP). Chronic SH leads to an increase in aortic (Ao) stiffness, and measuring Ao elasticity is useful for estimating Ao stiffness in humans. Currently, no literature in veterinary medicine describes noninvasive assessment of abdominal Ao elasticity in dogs with SH. OBJECTIVE: Compare ultrasonographic-derived abdominal Ao strain (AoSt) between hypertensive (HT) and normotensive (NT) dogs. ANIMALS: Fifty privately-owned dogs with clinical signs, conditions, or both potentially associated with SH. METHODS: Prospective observational case-control study. Aortic stiffness was estimated by calculating AoSt as follows: AoSt = ([AoDs - AoDd]/AoDd) × 100, where AoDs and AoDd are the Ao diameter in systole and in diastole, respectively. Aortic stiffness was calculated from 2 different Ao transverse sections, the first caudal to the left renal artery (K_AoSt), and the second cranial to the external iliac arteries (I_AoSt). RESULTS: Thirty-two dogs were included in the HT group and 18 in the NT group. Both K_AoSt and I_AoSt in HT dogs were significantly lower (P < .05) than in NT dogs (7.4 ± SD 3.6) vs 10.3 (±3.8) and 5.7 (interquartile range [IQR], 3.9-7.5) vs 8.1 (IQR, 7-10.3), respectively. Only K_AoSt was significantly influenced by age. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Ultrasonographic Ao elasticity assessment was feasible to compare HT and NT dogs. Results indicated that K_AoSt and I_AoSt indices can be used to assess SH-related Ao stiffness, especially when indirect BP measurements are inconsistent or inaccurate. Additional studies to assess the AoSt in healthy dogs of various ages are needed.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32949191/