Bull & Female Sale January 26th, 2024

    Pulmonary Artery Pressure (PAP) is the measure of blood pressure in the pulmonary artery. What is blood pressure? Blood pressure is the force that blood exerts on the walls of blood vessels. The higher the blood pressure or PAP score can result in a decrease in performance, cause of illness, and even more severe stroke or brisket disease. It is known that at higher altitudes the cow/bull has to work harder to process oxygen. So if the cow/bull already has a high PAP score then they are more likely to develop brisket disease when moved to a higher altitude. 

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Is PAP relevant to my herd?

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   PAP scores are mainly monitored for cattle going to range in high elevations. However, PAP is applicable to all herds. The PAP score is also useful in determining the amount of arterial stress the cow/bull can handle which can be related to the performance of a cow/bull. 

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First let's explain this...

  Muscles need oxygen to function, and arteries carry oxygenated blood to the muscles. So with the example of a bull in breeding season when traversing through pasture from cow to cow, their body has to process oxygen at an alarming rate by allowing larger amounts of blood to pass through arteries in order to feed the muscles. The arterial wall needs to withstand higher amounts of pressure from the blood. So the lower Pulmonary Artery Pressure (PAP) score, may result in a more athletic performing bull. 

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   PAP scores are also genetic. This makes it important to pass on bloodlines that improve the overall health and performance of a cattle herd. 

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Research

- heart.org

- webmd.com

- Medical News Today

- US National Library of Medicine

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