Systolic blood pressure of dogs at hospital and domestic environment

Abstract

The measurement of blood pressure (BP) is an important assessment of the cardiovascular system, being influenced by physical and pathological conditions. Certain situations of stress and anxiety during BP measurement can lead to elevated values in small animals, known in medicine as "white coat effect". The aim of this research was to compare systolic blood pressure (SBP) measurement using Doppler ultrasonography in 45 adult healthy dogs in two environments, at a veterinary hospital and at home. Comparison of heart rate, serum concentrations of cortisol and glucose intended to help the evaluation of the stress level of the animals. The mean of SBP at the veterinary hospital was 154.7mmHg and it was significantly (P<0.01) higher than at home (136.3mmHg). It was also observed that HR (mean=122.7bpm), and serum cortisol (median=4.5μg dL-1) and glucose (mean=95.9mg dL-1) concentrations were significantly higher (P<0.01) at the hospital, when compared with values obtained at home (109.6bpm; 1.5μg dL-1 and 85.5mg dL-1, respectively). In conclusion, the environment can influence SBP in dogs, due to factors related to stress.