Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Long-term ECG shows harmless heart rhythm in 17-month-old dog
By Saponaro, V et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology·2025·É, France·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Cardiovascular images: long-term electrocardiogram assessment of ventricular modulated parasystole in a 17-month-old dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 17-month-old male Staffordshire bull terrier was brought in for an irregular heartbeat, but he showed no symptoms. A 5-minute electrocardiogram and a 24-hour Holter monitor test confirmed he had a benign condition called ventricular parasystole, which is a type of arrhythmia. Since he wasn't experiencing any health issues, the veterinarian decided that no treatment was necessary. This case highlights the importance of thorough monitoring for heart conditions, even when a dog appears healthy.
People also search for: dog irregular heartbeat · Staffordshire bull terrier heart arrhythmia · ventricular parasystole in dogs
Abstract
A 17-month-old male Staffordshire bull terrier dog was referred in order to assess an asymptomatic arrhythmia. A 5-min electrocardiogram and 24-h Holter monitor recording revealed the following criteria for ventricular parasystole (VP): mathematically related interectopic intervals, varying coupling intervals of ventricular complexes with sinus complexes, and the presence of fusion complexes. The effect of modulation of the VP cycle length by the sinus rhythm was highlighted on the Holter monitor recording. As the dog did not present with clinical signs and the arrhythmia was judged benign, treatment was not prescribed. The veterinary literature about VP is quite poor. A few case reports exist, all without an association with cardiac disease and any evidence of usefulness of an anti-arrhythmic treatment. A long period (more than a short electrocardiogram) is advised in order to definitively diagnose VP and to rule out malignant arrhythmia.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41015839/