The antihypertensive effect of amlodipine in cats

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effect of amlodipine on blood pressure and renal function in cats with arterial hypertension secondary to chronic renal failure. The research was conducted on 11 cats, aged between 7 and 14.5 years, diagnosed with arterial hypertension secondary to chronic renal failure. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MBP) and pulse rate were determined by oscillometric method, before and after 7, 30 or 120 days of treatment with amlodipine. At the beginning of treatment, all cats were receiving 0.625 mg amlodipine once daily and after 7 days oftreatment, in five cats, the dose was increased to 1.25 mg amlodipine, once daily. Before amlodipine administration the mean values of SBP/DBP were 175 ± 13.2 mmHg/119 ± 7.2 mmHg and after 30 days of treatment, the mean values of the SBP/DBP were reduced by 27.9/25.4 mmHg (p<0,001). After 120 days of treatment with amlodipine mean values of SBP/DBP were lower with 32/31 mmHg compared with baseline values (p<0.001). The treatment with amlodipine did not significantly affect the values of blood biochemical parameters of renal profile.