• Danielle A Rondeau, Megan E Mackalonis, and Rebecka S Hess.
• Department of Clinical Studies-Philadelphia, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. dani.rondeau@peakveterinary.com
• J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 2013 Jun 1;242(11):1523-7.

ObjectiveTo determine whether a difference existed in Doppler ultrasonographic measurements of systolic arterial blood pressure (SAP) in sitting versus laterally recumbent dogs and to determine the degree of variability in measurements made in each position.DesignDiagnostic test evaluation.Animals51 healthy or sick adult dogs, without recent sedation or anesthesia and with an SAP ≤ 300 mm Hg.ProceduresIn a crossover design, SAP was measured via Doppler ultrasonography when dogs were sitting (on hind limbs with nonmeasured forelimb bearing weight) and laterally recumbent, with the cuff position at the level of the right atrium for both positions. Seven measurements were obtained per position for each dog.ResultsMean ± SD SAP was significantly higher in the sitting (172.1 ± 33.3 mm Hg) versus recumbent (147.0 ± 24.6 mm Hg) position, and this difference was evident for 44 of 51 (86%) dogs. The mean difference in measured SAP between the 2 positions was 25.1 ± 28.5 mm Hg. Blood pressure measurements had a significantly higher repeatability in the recumbent position than in the sitting position.Conclusions And Clinical RelevanceBlood pressure measurements in dogs were significantly affected by body position, and they were higher for most dogs when sitting rather than laterally recumbent. Blood pressure measurements in the laterally recumbent body position were less variable than in the sitting position.

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