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Conscious Indirect Blood Pressure Measurements in Asiatic Black Bears (Ursus thibetanus)
Grace M Scrafford1, O Lynne Nelson1, Rachel Sanki2
1College of Veterinary Medicine, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99163, USA.
Insights
Systemic hypertension is a serious concern for rescued Asiatic black bears. A new noninvasive blood pressure monitoring method shows promise for early detection and management in these animals.
Area of Science:
- Veterinary Medicine
- Cardiology
- Animal Health
Background:
- Systemic hypertension is prevalent in rescued Asiatic black bears, leading to fatal aortic aneurysms.
- Traditional diagnosis relies on identifying secondary lesions in anesthetized bears during annual check-ups.
- The Vietnam Bear Rescue Center (VBRC) introduced training for cooperative conscious blood pressure measurements to improve monitoring.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate a noninvasive, indirect oscillometric blood pressure measurement technique.
- To validate this method against direct arterial measurements in anesthetized bears.
- To establish normal systolic blood pressure ranges for trained, conscious Asiatic black bears.
Main Methods:
- Indirect oscillometric blood pressure measurements were validated against direct arterial measurements in nine anesthetized bears.
- Eleven trained, conscious bears without hypertension-related lesions were used to develop normal ranges.
- Systolic blood pressure was measured in trained bears (n=11).
Main Results:
- Indirect blood pressure measurements were validated against direct arterial measurements.
- Mean systolic blood pressure in trained conscious Asiatic black bears was 180.65 +/- 37 mmHg (95% CI: 126-255).
- This noninvasive method shows potential for monitoring blood pressure in conscious bears.
Conclusions:
- Indirect blood pressure measurement is a viable tool for monitoring hypertension in trained, cooperative Asiatic black bears.
- This technique can facilitate earlier diagnosis and management of systemic hypertension.
- Improved monitoring can help prevent fatal consequences like aortic rupture in rescued bears.
Abstract:
At Animals Asia's Vietnam Bear Rescue Center (VBRC), 40% of the current population has been diagnosed with systemic hypertension. Systemic hypertension lesions have led to fatal consequences in the form of aortic aneurysm and rupture. Historically, veterinarians were only able to diagnose systemic hypertension by identifying validated secondary structural heart and retinal lesions during annual health checks of anesthetized bears. In 2021, the VBRC began training bears for cooperative conscious blood pressure measurements to increase monitoring frequency and expedite the diagnosis of systemic hypertension in affected bears. The objective of this study was to evaluate a noninvasive method of blood pressure measurement in trained, cooperative Asiatic black bears. Indirect blood pressure measurements, using the oscillometric technique, were validated with direct arterial measurements in nine bears (6 male, 3 female, ages 13-22 years) undergoing anesthesia for annual health checks. Eleven trained bears at the VBRC without secondary lesions of systemic hypertension (6 male, 5 female, ages 7-23 years) were used to develop normal systolic ranges for Asiatic black bears using the indirect technique. Mean blood pressure measurements for this group of trained bears (n = 11) were 180.65 +/- 37 mmHg (95% CI: 126-255) systolic. These results suggest that indirect blood pressures may be a useful tool to monitor blood pressure in cooperative conscious bears at the VBRC.
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