Indirect Blood Pressure Measurement in Horses: Is There an Influence of Age, Sex, Breed, Bodyweight, and Cardiac Diseases on Pressure Values?
Authors: Alberti Elena, Stucchi Luca, Stancari Giovanni, Ferro Elisabetta, Ferrucci Francesco, Zucca Enrica
Journal: Journal of equine veterinary science
Summary
# Editorial Summary Equine blood pressure reference values remain poorly characterised in the literature, particularly in horses with cardiac disease, prompting this Italian research team to examine whether age, sex, breed, bodyweight and cardiac pathology influence indirect blood pressure measurements. Using ultrasonic blood-flow techniques, they measured systolic and diastolic pressures in 60 horses with various cardiac abnormalities and 23 healthy controls, stratifying the diseased cohort by echocardiographic evidence of cardiac dilation. Multivariable linear regression identified age as a significant predictor of diastolic pressure in healthy horses, whilst cardiac dilation—independent of other factors—significantly elevated both systolic and diastolic pressures; notably, horses with dilated hearts were considerably older than those in both the non-dilated disease and control groups. These findings underscore the complexity of interpreting equine blood pressure data, as the investigators cannot definitively separate the effects of advancing age from those of cardiac structural change. Practitioners should recognise that resting blood pressure values in older horses and those with echocardiographic evidence of cardiac dilation may be inherently elevated, necessitating caution when using absolute pressure thresholds to guide clinical decision-making without consideration of these cofactors.
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Practical Takeaways
- •When measuring blood pressure in horses with known or suspected cardiac disease, consider that cardiac dilation significantly affects pressure readings independent of other factors
- •Age should be factored into interpretation of resting diastolic blood pressure values in healthy horses
- •Indirect ultrasonic blood-flow measurement provides a non-invasive method for cardiac disease assessment in clinical practice
Key Findings
- •Age significantly influenced diastolic pressure in healthy horses
- •Presence of cardiac dilation in horses with cardiac disease significantly affected both systolic and diastolic pressures
- •Horses with cardiac dilation were significantly older than those without cardiac dimensional changes and control group horses
- •Sex, breed, and bodyweight did not show significant influence on blood pressure values in this cohort