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Posted On Jul 01, 2025

Updated On Jul 01, 2025

The Correlation Of Pulse Quality And Blood Pressure In Dogs

Emergency & Critical Care

We discussed, separately, the findings of study[1] that examined the correlation between peripheral pulse palpation and systolic blood pressure measurements in cats. A subsequent study[2] was undertaken to look at the relationship between peripheral pulse palpation and Doppler systolic blood pressure (SBP) readings in dogs.

This was a prospective, observational study involving 93 dogs that presented to an emergency service. Clinicians palpated both femoral and dorsal metatarsal pulses and evaluated them for quality (strong, weak, or absent), and also measured systolic blood pressure measurements.

Findings reported from that study were that:

  • Median systolic blood pressures were not significantly different between dogs that had either absent or present femoral pulses

  • Median systolic blood pressures were significantly different between dogs that had palpable dorsal metatarsal pulses vs. those that did not

    • Dogs with absent dorsal metatarsal pulses were 7.6 times more likely to be hypotensive (SBP < 90 mmHg) vs dogs with palpable pulses

    • Sensitivity of absent metatarsal pulses to diagnose hypotension was 33%; Specificity was 94%


Takeaways:  If a clinician cannot palpate a metatarsal pulse it's highly likely that the patient is hypotensive, BUT just because you can palpate a pulse does not mean the blood pressure is normal. 

The authors suggest that dorsal metatarsal pulse palpation is useful for triaging patients in the emergency room setting however it should not replace an actual blood pressure measurement if you are trying to assess a dog's cardiovascular stability.

[1] Prediction of systolic blood pressure using peripheral pulse palpation in cats. J Vet Emerg Crit Care. 2016 Jan-Feb;26(1):52-7. doi: 10.1111/vec.12418

[2] Evaluation of the relationship between peripheral pulse palpation and Doppler systolic blood pressure in dogs presenting to an emergency service. J Vet Emerg Crit Care. 2018 Apr. doi: 10.1111/vec.12718