Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog developed tricuspid valve narrowing after heart pacemaker leads
By Tompkins, Emily et al.·Published in Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association·2015·Department of Ambulatory Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Acquired tricuspid valve stenosis associated with two ventricular endocardial pacing leads in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 12-year-old terrier was brought in for breathing problems and signs of heart failure six months after having a second heart pacing lead implanted. The vet found that the leads were causing a blockage in the heart's tricuspid valve, which was confirmed through ultrasound. Unfortunately, despite medical treatment, the dog's condition worsened, and the owner made the difficult decision to euthanize the pet six weeks after the diagnosis. This case highlights a rare complication of heart pacing in dogs.
People also search for: dog breathing problems · terrier heart failure treatment · tricuspid valve stenosis in dogs
Abstract
Acquired tricuspid valve stenosis (TVS) is a rare complication of endocardial pacing lead implantation in humans that has only been described once previously in the veterinary literature in a dog with excessive lead redundancy. A 12 yr old terrier presented with right-sided congestive heart failure 6 mo after implantation of a second ventricular endocardial pacing lead. The second lead was placed due to malfunction of the first lead, which demonstrated abnormally low impedance. Transthoracic echocardiography identified hyperechoic tissue associated with the pacing leads as they crossed the tricuspid valve annulus as well as a stenotic tricuspid inflow pattern via spectral Doppler interrogation. Medical management was ultimately unsuccessful and the dog was euthanized 6 wk after TVS was diagnosed. The authors report the first canine case of acquired TVS associated with two ventricular endocardial pacing leads.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25955141/