Blood pressure in hyperthyroid cats before and after radioiodine treatment

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 (131I) 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