Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
5-minute ECG can predict heart arrhythmias in Doberman Pinschers
By Wess, G et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2010·Clinic of Small Animal Medicine, Germany·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Ability of a 5-minute electrocardiography (ECG) for predicting arrhythmias in Doberman Pinschers with cardiomyopathy in comparison with a 24-hour ambulatory ECG.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A Doberman Pinscher with heart problems was tested using a quick 5-minute electrocardiogram (ECG) to check for irregular heartbeats called ventricular premature contractions (VPCs). While the 5-minute ECG isn't very sensitive and missed some cases, it was still able to identify many dogs that needed further testing. If a dog had at least one VPC during the short ECG, it indicated a high chance of having more than 100 VPCs in a day, suggesting potential heart disease. This means that if your Doberman shows any signs of heart issues, a quick ECG can be a helpful first step, but further evaluation may be necessary.
People also search for: Doberman Pinscher heart problems · VPCs in dogs · ECG for dog heart disease
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Ventricular premature contractions (VPCs) are common in the occult stage of cardiomyopathy in Doberman Pinschers. Although the gold standard for detecting arrhythmia is the 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiography (ECG) (Holter), this method is more expensive, time-consuming and often not as readily available as common ECG. OBJECTIVES: Comparison of 5-minute ECGs with Holter examinations. ANIMALS: Eight hundred and seventy-five 5-minute ECGs and Holter examinations of 431 Doberman Pinschers. METHODS: Each examination included a 5-minute ECG and Holter examination. A cut-off value of > 100 VPCs/24 hours using Holter was considered diagnostic for the presence of cardiomyopathy. Statistical evaluation included calculation of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value. RESULTS: Holter examinations revealed > 100 VPCs/24 hours in 204/875 examinations. At least 1 VPC during a 5-minute ECG was detected in 131 (64.2%) of these 204 examinations. No VPCs were found in the 5-minute ECG in 73 (35.8%) examinations of affected Doberman Pinschers. A 5-minute ECG with at least 1 VPC as cut-off had a sensitivity of 64.2%, a specificity of 96.7%, a positive predictive value of 85.6% and a negative predictive value of 89.9% for the presence of > 100 VPCs/24 hours. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: A 5-minute ECG is a rather insensitive method for detecting arrhythmias in Doberman Pinschers. However, the occurrence of at least 1 VPC in 5 minutes strongly warrants further examination of the dog, because specificity (96.7%) and positive predictive value (85.6%) are high and could suggest occult cardiomyopathy.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20136711/