Already at the first symptoms, it is worth consulting a specialist.
At our Clinic, you will find doctor Aleksandra Wójcik, who cares for cardiac patients.
The cardiological examination begins with auscultation of heart sounds with a stethoscope, and then the necessary additional tests are performed:
- heart echo (ultrasound examination),
- ECG, e. examination of the electrical activity of the heart,
- blood pressure
Appropriate equipment, which Saskavet Clinic is equipped with, allows you to perform all these procedures during one consultation.
HEART ECHO
It is nothing more than an ultrasound examination.
They are often performed in a lateral position, but examining an animal in a standing position is also possible.
The doctor looks at the heart while working in several projections, making unique measurements, measuring the heart muscle’s thickness and the speed of blood flow through the aorta and pulmonary artery, and evaluating the function of the valves.
Heart echo allows us to obtain much information about the efficiency of the heart muscle and the effectiveness of its work.
It is beneficial in diagnosing heart tumours.
No preparation is required on the part of the patient for the examination, so fasting is not applicable here.
ECG TEST
The ECG test measures the electrical activity of the heart.
During the examination, four electrodes are attached to the patient, located in a fold of skin at the front and rear paws.
The reading should last at least 30 seconds to obtain a reliable result.
No special preparation of the animal is required for the ECG examination.
BLOOD PRESSURE MEASUREMENT
Hypertension is an increasingly frequently diagnosed ailment in animals, contributing to the development of glaucoma or kidney failure.
Doppler pressure measurement is carried out using a device equipped with headphones, a pulse detector and a measuring element. A suitably sized inflatable cuff is put on the paw or tail of the patient, and below it (usually between the paw pads or at the base of the bottom), a pulse detector is applied.
We also have an oscillometric device consisting of a cuff connected to a reader.
This way of measuring blood pressure does not apply to animals with low and restless blood pressure.
Several measurements are taken, and an average value is taken from them. Thanks to this, the result obtained is reliable.
According to the latest guidelines, cats should have their blood pressure measured a minimum of once a year from the first year of life due to a predisposition to heart disease!
This test is routinely available at our facility, as any veterinarian and veterinary technician can perform it during a visit.
