Welcome to the Veterinary Blood Pressure Society

This society was formed out of a merger between the IBPF (International Blood Pressure Forum) and the Consensus Group on Hypertension at the ACVIM meeting in Dallas in May 2002 and has resulted from the proliferation of interest in the importance of high blood pressure in companion animals over the last few years. The minutes of our first meeting in Dallas are included with this letter. This subject is really in its infancy with large gaps in our knowledge at the present time as was evident when the ACVIM Concensus Group on Hypertension reported its findings and to the ACVIM Forum in May 2001.

The impetus for forming this Society has come from members of the ACVIM Concensus group and from the International Blood Pressure Forum, a group that has met intermittently over the past 5 years at International Conferences. It is clear that a multi-disciplinary approach to this problem is important.

To get

• cardiologists,
• nephrologists,
• neurologists,
• ophthalmologists,
• anesthesiologists and
• pharmacologists

to communicate and cooperate seems like a tall order but that is what is necessary if we are to make progress.

We feel the time is now ripe for a coordinated effort to enable interested veterinarians

• to share knowledge and ideas in this area
• to foster collaboration and
• facilitate multicentre international studies that will truly increase our understanding of this fascinating area of veterinary medicine.

By becoming a member of this society you have registered a commitment to the Society’s mission and objectives. We hope you will participate enthusiastically in all the Society’s activities and will gain much from the experience. Your comments and suggestions at this early stage would be most welcome.