**4. Conclusion**

Here we have reviewed how advancements in telemetric monitoring of blood pressure and heart rate have led to several major discoveries in the field of cardiovascular research, primarily hypertension and associated pathologies. The benefits of telemetry as a reliable method for measuring in vivo blood pressure in small laboratory animals are further heightened by the advantages that the technique provides regarding cost effectiveness and animal welfare. Until recently, the most commonly used techniques for monitoring blood pressure in conscious rats and mice were a tail cuff device or an exteriorized catheter connected to a pressure transducer. There are, however, considerable drawbacks associated with each of these methods that make them undesirable as accurate means of obtaining blood pressure measurements. Namely, the accuracy of blood pressure measurements using tail cuff are significantly affected by environmental factors as well as by any physiological or pharmacological factor that influences blood flow in the tail, nor does the method allow for continuous blood pressure recordings. Although exteriorized catheters do allow for blood pressure to be measured continuously, decreasing catheter patency is a problem that usually limits the duration of reliable recordings.

Physiologic data collection using telemetry has many advantages over older methods such as restraints, cuffs, tethers, etc. Data are free from physiological and psychological stressand anaesthesia-induced artefact. Furthermore, telemetry is more cost-effective and less labor-intensive when compared to tail cuff and exteriorized catheters, and there is an increased chance of capturing occasional and transient events over a long period. There is also a reduction in the number of animals required due to more and better quality data. As a result, the technique has proven to be an extremely valuable tool for researchers, especially those in the fields of cardiovascular physiology and pharmacology, where the use of telemetry for measuring blood pressure, cardiac activity, heart rate, body temperature and locomotor activity in rodents has been sufficiently validated.

Continually evolving refinements in telemetry methodology will undoubtedly aid researchers in acquiring high quality, physiologically relevant data and contribute to groundbreaking discoveries that may, ultimately, lead to therapeutics.
