The heart is stimulated to pump faster and more forcefully, and eventually, the heart enlarges to meet these increased demands for blood flow. The increased pumping pressure leads to a greater output of blood and high blood pressure. Hypertension should be suspected in any older cat with kidney disease or hyperthyroidism. Onset of sudden, unexplained blindness should raise a strong suspicion for hypertension and the associated diseases should be considered. Also, the presence of a heart murmur or kidney-related problems may signal the presence of a hypertensive state.
Blood pressure is determined with a device that can detect blood flow in arteries.
Obviously, the cat has very small arteries when compared to those of humans. Consequently, the standard blood pressure equipment used on humans will not work on cats. Although there are several drugs which are very effective in treating human hypertension, none of these are approved for use in cats. Research efforts have determined that some of these drugs are effective in cats. Studies are still being done in an effort to determine which drugs are the safest and most reliable.