Open AccessEffect of Amlodipine on Echocardiographic Variables in Cats with Systemic Hypertension
Author(s) -
Snyder Patti S.,
Sadek Deena,
Jones Galin L.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of veterinary internal medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.356
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1939-1676
pISSN - 0891-6640
DOI - 10.1111/j.1939-1676.2001.tb02299.x
Subject(s) - medicine , cats , amlodipine , cardiology , interventricular septum , left ventricular hypertrophy , diastole , blood pressure , hypertensive heart disease , muscle hypertrophy , systole , ventricular hypertrophy , cardiac hypertrophy , heart failure , ventricle
Left ventricular hypertrophy signals a poor prognosis in hypertensive humans. Cardiac disease is common in cats with systemic hypertension. The aims of this study were to characterize the echocardiographic findings of cats with systemic hypertension and to determine if reducing the degree of hypertension is associated with resolution of cardiac hypertrophy. Echocardiographic examinations were performed on 19 cats with naturally occurring systemic hypertension. Fourteen of these cats were subsequently studied after a minimum of 3 months of treatment with the antihypertensive agent amlodipine. Hypertensive cats had a significantly thicker interventricular septum in both systole and diastole, thicker left ventricular free wall in both systole and diastole, and larger left atrium compared to the published normal values and 74% (14/19) of the cats met criteria for left ventricular hypertrophy (diastolic septal or free‐wall thickness > 0.60 cm). Systolic blood pressure was lower after treatment (217 ± 25 mm Hg, range: 180–275 mm Hg; and 142 ± 27 mm Hg, range: 90–200 mm Hg). No difference was found in any of the echocardiographic measurements between the untreated and treated cats, although more cats had ventricular hypertrophy before treatment (11/14) than after initiating amlodipine (6/14; P = .006). Ventricular hypertrophy is common in hypertensive cats and may resolve after the initiation of amlodipine.