Conn syndrome in the cat
Conn syndrome in cats is caused by a disorder or disease of the adrenal cortex. As in humans, there are basically two causes: overproduction of aldosterone through hyperplasia, which means that the tissue cells multiply or a tumour, which is usually benign, is called an adenoma. The excess aldosterone also leads to therapy-resistant high blood pressure in cats, as well as a reduced potassium level.
Therapeutic measures can be surgical removal of the adrenal gland or drug treatment. In cats, unlike in humans, surgery in cats is often associated with complications, so unfortunately, in some cases, surgery in four-legged animals can also lead to the death of the cat. If there are no undesirable side effects from the operation, the cats generally have a good prognosis.
The drug therapy consists mainly of blood pressure lowering agents. The prognosis cannot be predicted in general, in the few cats whose survival time was measured there were strong fluctuations between three quarters of a year and a few years. In contrast to humans, it is generally much more difficult to predict the success of treatment or to make a statement about the prognosis in cats.
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