Chapter 14 Systemic Hypertension
POPULATION AT RISK
CONSEQUENCES AND CLINICAL SIGNS OF HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
Ocular Signs
• A sudden onset of blindness due to retinal hemorrhage and detachment is a common presenting complaint (Figure 14-1).
MEASUREMENT OF BLOOD PRESSURE
Cuff Size and Placement
• A complete range of pediatric cuff sizes should be available for an optimal patient limb circumference to cuff width ratio.
• Generally, for the Doppler technique, the cuff is placed over the median artery, and the transducer is placed between the carpal and the metacarpal pads (Figure 14-2). Clipping the hair and applying acoustic gel at the site of transducer placement may enhance the signal, but clipping the hair may increase stress-artifact.
• For the oscillometric technique, our studies demonstrated that the coccygeal or cranial tibial artery in dogs may provide more reliable values than other sites (Figure 14-3).