Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Signs and heart ultrasound findings in cats with heart failure
By Masters, A K et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology·2025·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Clinical and echocardiographic variables associated with the type of congestive heart failure manifestation in cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 10-year-old male domestic shorthair cat was brought in for increased breathing rate and difficulty breathing, which are signs of congestive heart failure (CHF). The vet found that the cat had fluid buildup in the abdomen (ascites) and noted specific heart measurements that indicated the severity of the condition. While the type of CHF manifestation did not significantly affect survival, it did influence how quickly the CHF returned after treatment. The cat was treated with medications to manage the heart condition and fluid buildup, which helped improve its breathing and overall comfort.
People also search for: cat congestive heart failure symptoms · cat breathing problems treatment · cat heart disease ascites
Abstract
INTRODUCTION/OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine clinical and echocardiographic findings associated with congestive heart failure (CHF) manifestation type in cats and to assess impact on the risk of CHF recurrence and survival. ANIMALS, MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective medical record review of 135 cats with CHF was conducted. Cats were grouped based on CHF manifestation type. Associations between CHF manifestation and clinical and echocardiographic variables were assessed using a Fisher's test and analysis of variance. Comparisons between CHF manifestations were performed using a pairwise Fisher's test with Bonferroni-Holm adjustment and Tukey's honestly significant difference method after analysis of variance. RESULTS: Congestive heart failure manifestation was associated with sex (P=0.045), history of increased respiratory rate (P=0.006), effort (P=0.001), and signs of arterial thromboembolism (P=0.004). Significant differences between left atrium-to-aorta ratio (P=0.043), diastolic right ventricular internal dimension (P=0.001), systolic right ventricular internal dimension (P=0.015), tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (P=0.044), and presence of non-specific cardiomyopathy phenotype (P=0.001) were identified among CHF groups. Cats with ascites as their CHF manifestation had significantly higher median diastolic right ventricular internal dimension (9.9 mm) and systolic right ventricular internal dimension (6.6 mm) on pairwise comparison than cats with other CHF manifestations. Congestive heart failure manifestation did not have a statistically significant association with survival but did with time to CHF recurrence (P=0.008). STUDY LIMITATIONS: Retrospective design, small sample size, and potential misclassification of CHF manifestation type are limitations of this study. CONCLUSIONS: Congestive heart failure manifestation type is associated with various clinical and echocardiographic findings in cats with heart disease.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40305900/