Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cardiovascular images: vascular hamartoma of the mitral valve in a horse.
- Journal:
- Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology
- Year:
- 2018
- Authors:
- DiVincenzo, M J et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Veterinary Biosciences · United States
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
An 8-month-old Hanoverian gelding (a type of horse) was brought to the vet because he had heart murmurs that were not noticed when he was a foal or during his castration. Tests showed that his mitral valve, which helps control blood flow in the heart, was thickened and not working properly, leading to serious heart issues and high blood pressure in the lungs. Given the severity of his condition and the poor outlook for his future health and ability to perform, the decision was made to euthanize him. A postmortem examination revealed changes in the heart, including an irregular mitral valve with nodules and some inflammation. The problem was identified as a vascular hamartoma, a rare benign growth that affected the heart valve and caused significant health issues.
Abstract
An 8-month-old Hanoverian gelding was presented with a history of cardiac murmurs that were not apparent as a foal nor reported at the time of castration. Major echocardiographic findings included mitral valvular thickening, functional stenosis, and mitral regurgitation of sufficient severity to cause diastolic and systolic cardiac murmurs, left-sided volume overload, and pulmonary hypertension. Due to the hemodynamic severity of the lesion and poor prognosis for future performance and longevity, euthanasia was elected. On gross postmortem examination, there was focal fibrous epicarditis affecting the heart base, and the left atrium was moderately dilated. The mitral valve surface was irregular and contained several nodules along the atrial face of the cusp. Histologically, this lesion was diagnosed as a vascular hamartoma, which is rarely reported in veterinary species and has not been described in heart valves. This benign proliferative lesion, and concurrent valvular dysfunction, was associated with an unusual manifestation of clinically evident disease and should be differentiated from common incidental valvular lesions such as hematocysts.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30526955/