Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Antidiuretic hormone and chloride levels in dogs with heart disease
By Harris, A N et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology·2025·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Antidiuretic hormone concentrations in dogs with heart disease and relationship to serum chloride.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study found that dogs with heart disease, specifically congestive heart failure (CHF), had higher levels of a hormone called antidiuretic hormone (ADH) compared to healthy dogs. This hormone helps the body retain water, which can lead to low levels of chloride, an important electrolyte. Interestingly, the amount of ADH was similar in dogs with early heart disease and those with advanced CHF. The findings suggest that elevated ADH is common in dogs with heart issues, even before they show severe symptoms.
People also search for: dog heart disease symptoms · elevated ADH in dogs · dog electrolyte imbalance treatment
Abstract
INTRODUCTION/OBJECTIVES: Non-osmotic antidiuretic hormone (ADH) release promotes electrolyte-free water retention in dogs with congestive heart failure (CHF), contributing to low electrolyte concentrations. We hypothesized that dogs with CHF would have higher ADH concentrations than healthy dogs and dogs with preclinical heart disease, and that ADH concentrations would positively correlate to the amount of chloride [Cl] correction but not serum osmolality. ANIMALS, MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study population comprised 20 healthy, 20 preclinical, and 20 CHF dogs. Serum electrolytes, serum osmolality, and plasma ADH were measured and compared between groups using the Kruskal-Wallis test. Relationships between ADH and electrolytes, the amount of [Cl] correction, osmolality, and the use of amlodipine and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system inhibitors were explored with multiple linear regression. RESULTS: Preclinical (median 6.5 pg/mL; range 1.8 pg/mL-33.8 pg/mL) and CHF (6.7 pg/mL; range 2.0 pg/mL-28.1 pg/mL) dogs had higher ADH concentrations than healthy dogs (median 3.4 pg/mL; range 0.1 pg/mL-6.2 pg/mL) (P=0.004) but there was no difference between preclinical and CHF dogs. Serum ADH was inversely correlated with [Cl] (P=0.026, r= -0.287) and c[Cl] (P=0.008, r= -0.338). Amlodipine use and [Cl] predicted ADH after controlling for age, weight, use of renin-angiotensin aldosterone inhibitors, and osmolality. There was no significant relationship between ADH and the amount of [Cl] correction, osmolality, or serum sodium. DISCUSSION: The inverse relationship between ADH and serum [Cl] and the positive relationship with amlodipine use suggests neurohormonal stimulation as a common mechanism. Uncoupling of ADH from osmolality and serum sodium is consistent with non-osmotic release, which was present even in dogs with preclinical heart disease. CONCLUSIONS: Antidiuretic hormone was elevated in dogs with heart disease but was not a unique feature of advanced heart disease.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39978209/