Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Blood test for heart-related breathing trouble in cats
By Herndon, William E et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2008·California Veterinary Specialists, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Assessment of plasma cardiac troponin I concentration as a means to differentiate cardiac and noncardiac causes of dyspnea in cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of cats with breathing problems (dyspnea) was tested to see if measuring a specific protein in their blood (cardiac troponin I) could help tell if their issues were due to heart failure or other causes. The study found that cats with heart failure had much higher levels of this protein compared to those with non-heart-related issues. In fact, measuring this protein could help veterinarians determine the cause of breathing difficulties in over half of the cats without needing more tests. This could make diagnosing heart problems in cats quicker and easier.
People also search for: cat breathing problems · cat heart failure symptoms · how to test for heart disease in cats
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether plasma cardiac troponin I (cTnI) concentrations can be used to discriminate cardiac from noncardiac causes of dyspnea in cats. DESIGN: Prospective, multicenter study. ANIMALS: Client-owned cats with dyspnea attributable to congestive heart failure (D-CHF; n=31) or to noncardiac causes (D-NCC; n=12). PROCEDURES: For each cat, plasma cTnI concentration was analyzed by use of a solid-phase radial partition immunoassay; values in cats with D-CHF and D-NCC were compared. A receiver operating characteristic curve was analyzed to determine the accuracy of plasma cTnI concentration for diagnosis of D-CHF. RESULTS: Median plasma concentration of cTnI in cats with D-CHF (1.59 ng/mL; range, 0.20 to 30.24 ng/mL) was significantly higher than in cats with D-NCC (0.165 ng/mL; range, 0.01 to 1.42 ng/mL). With regard to the accuracy of plasma cTnI concentration for diagnosis of D-CHF, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.84. At plasma concentrations > or = 0.2 ng/mL, cTnI had 100% sensitivity but only 58% specificity for identification of CHF as the cause of dyspnea. At plasma concentrations > or = 1.43 ng/mL, cTnI had 100% specificity and 58% sensitivity for identification of CHF as the cause of dyspnea. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: On the basis of the derived diagnostic limits, CHF as the cause of dyspnea could be ruled in or ruled out without additional diagnostic testing in > 50% of the study cats. Measurement of plasma cTnI concentration may be clinically useful for differentiation of cardiac from noncardiac causes of dyspnea in cats. (J Am Vet
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18922052/