1 Aug 2024
Starting in July 2022, the group-wide project looked at how effective first opinion small animal practices were in screening older cats.
Lacey Pitcher
Job TitleA CVS clinical project to increase early identification and treatment of hypertension has been named QI Winner in the RCVS 2024 Quality Improvement Awards.
Hypertension affects 24% of cats and 10% dogs in their lifetime and early identification can prevent long-lasting damage, such as blindness.
However, research suggests that regular blood pressure screening is rarely undertaken. Though relatively low-cost and readily available in veterinary practices, various barriers have been cited.
Starting in July 2022, CVS’ hypertension project looked at how effective its first opinion small animal practices were in screening older cats for hypertension. Reflecting the industry norm, it found less than 2% of cats over seven years were receiving an annual blood pressure check.
The research also found common barriers to conducting checks were time constraints, availability of equipment, remembering and having the confidence to discuss checks with owners.
The project then nominated champions to be a central point of contact for communication and delivery at each practice and a suite of resources was produced to support the whole practice team in improving annual check rates.
This included new clinical frameworks and veterinary guidelines on how to treat hypertension; in-practice educational resources to highlight the benefits of hypertension screening, and information sheets and blood pressure diaries to help clients manage their pet’s condition.
Twelve months after its nationwide launch, results revealed that the number of blood pressure checks have more than doubled (110%) within participating practices, compared with 79% at non-focus sites.
There was also a 22% increase in patients dispensed Amodip (a first-line antihypertensive) year-on-year, 85% of which were from focus sites.
Robert Loxley, clinical director at Arbury Road Vets, said: “Looking at our figures, we weren’t doing a lot of blood pressure measurements, so it was a great opportunity to give better clinical care. There’s a huge benefit in treating hypertension. So many associated longer-term conditions can be avoided if annual blood pressure checks are routinely performed.”
