Normal blood pressure in dogs

I have already talked about the STUDY OF BLOOD PRESSURE IN DOGS in my previous post. Now here’s what the researchers have to say about the normal range of blood pressure in dogs. In the Royal Veterinarian College project a series of studies had been carried out with over 2000 dogs of different breeds, age and of both genders. After the long-term studies the researchers could determine the normal BP values for dogs and how various illnesses affects the dogs’ blood pressure values. Alike the other species the blood pressure values have four distinctive counts, which are:

1) Systolic value, which is the maximum value, and is associated with the contraction of the heart, i.e. heart systole.
2) Diastolic value, which is the minimum value, and is associated with the ralaxation of the heart, i.e. heart diastole.
3) The mean arterial pressure, which the average value
4) Pulse pressure, which is the difference between systolic and diastolic pressure value

According to the researchers the canine blood pressure trend is very much similar to that of humans with only certain differences. In human BP tends to rise with the maturity of age; a similar trend has been studied in dogs too throughout their lifespan! Certain noticeable facts regarding blood pressure of dogs are:

• Aged dogs tend to have higher BP than younger ones.
  
• Fatter dogs tend to have higher BP than thinner ones.
  
• Males have been noticed to have higher BP than female dogs with neutered dogs been intermediate.
  
• Dogs with certain ailments like hyper production of steroid in body (Cushing’s Disease) have been reported to have higher BP than those not suffering from such health disorders.
  
• While studying the blood pressure of dogs, a correlation between the dogs’ BP and the viscosity of the blood has been noticed. Alike humans, the dogs with lower blood pressure have less viscous blood and those with high BP have thicker blood.
  

Smaller dogs tend to have lower BP compared to larger and giants breeds.

Not to be forgotten, blood pressure of dogs also varies according to breeds of similar sizes. Breeds such as Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers and Pyrenean Mountain Dogs have low blood pressure values a compared to many other breeds of same size group. For instance Sight Hounds have been reported to have comparatively high BP. Most significant determinant of blood pressure in dogs is the breed. It’s the breed mainly on the basis of which canine BP varies. Researchers have concluded that breeds with higher BP tend have a greater increase in BP year on year all through their lives.