ECG and Blood Pressure Monitoring

ECG and Blood Pressure measurement

ECG, or electrocardiogram, measures heart rate and rhythm and some insight can be got from the size and shape of the peaks and troughs on the trace. ECGs are used to diagnose why your pet might be fainting or weak perhaps due to arrhythmias and contractility issues with the heart.

It is a quick, non-invasive test where electrodes are clipped onto your pet's skin and the machine records the electrical activity of the beats of the heart and takes minutes to carry out.

Measuring blood pressure is done very similarly to your own! A cuff is placed around the top of your pet's front leg and inflated and a pressure gauge and a sound monitor measures where the heart beat appears and disappears as the cuff is gradually deflated.

Blood pressure results from the pressure of the heart pushing blood around the body. If it is too high, this will damage organs and if too low it will also cause problems to organs due to lack of blood flow.

Just like in humans, there are drugs that can control high blood pressure in animals.