LOW BLOOD PRESSURE & HIGH HEART RATE & hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

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leleisoloved
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LOW BLOOD PRESSURE & HIGH HEART RATE & hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Post by leleisoloved »

Hello,
My beautiful cat was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy this week and I’m just a little bit confused about the treatment options.
They have started her on Clopidogerl to prevent clots which I understand but the Atenolol is what has got me confused - her resting heart rate is 180 & blood pressure of 80 - (the vet came to my home go take it as at the vet her heart rate was 250) and she had also taken Gabapentin (100mg).
Even if they put her on a very low dose of Atenolol but won’t this low her blood pressure even more and put her in a more danger zone with her blood pressure? Are you able to help me understand what I’m missing? I'm thinking of getting a blood pressure monitor myself and doing it at home to rest her without the gabapentin - do you know if its possible to use a human one with the right cuff size?
Thank you kindly,
booktigger
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Re: LOW BLOOD PRESSURE & HIGH HEART RATE & hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Post by booktigger »

I don't know anything about heart treatments unfortunately, but am curious why she's been put on gabapentin, that's often used for arthritis in cats, although can calm them. And that's an incredibly high dose, how heavy is your cat? My cat is just over 5kg, and when we use the tablet form, she has 50mg of gabapentin. Everytime I've had a cat need their blood pressure taken, it's been done on their tail, so not sure you'd get a human cuff that small.
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Mollycat
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Re: LOW BLOOD PRESSURE & HIGH HEART RATE & hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Post by Mollycat »

Not sure it's possible to do BP at home, as Booktigger says getting a cuff that small would be one obstacle, and perhaps your cat is very docile and tolerant but I wouldn't fancy my chances of getting a cat to tolerate it.

Low blood pressure can be a consequence of the heart not working so efficiently, and a high pulse rate is the body's way of trying to increase the blood pressure.

Can't comment on prescribed drugs, that would be a good question for the vet who prescribed it - personally I'm one of those annoying clients who always wants to know exactly what we're treating with and why and what happens if we don't. Any decent vet should be more than happy to explain their reasoning to you.
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