Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Signs and diagnosis of hypertrophic heart disease in dogs using echo
By Ando, Takeki et al.·Published in Open veterinary journal·2023·Graduate School of Veterinary Science, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Clinical findings using echocardiography and plasma cardiac troponin I and pathological findings in dogs with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: A retrospective study.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) showed symptoms like fainting (syncope) and trouble breathing (dyspnea). The veterinarians used echocardiography to examine the heart and found thickening of the heart walls, along with high levels of a protein called cardiac troponin I (cTnI), which indicates heart muscle damage. These findings helped confirm the diagnosis of HCM, allowing for timely treatment to be started. Monitoring these symptoms and test results can be crucial for managing this heart condition in dogs.
People also search for: dog heart problems symptoms · hypertrophic cardiomyopathy treatment for dogs · dog fainting and breathing issues
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is considered rare in dogs, and there is a lack of clinical data. Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) is a biomarker of cardiomyocyte damage and necrosis and can be used to diagnose cat and human HCM. AIM: We investigated whether the presence of cTnI in clinical data can be used in conjunction with echocardiography to diagnose canine HCM. METHODS: This study comprised client-owned dogs with clinical evidence of concentric hypertrophy on echocardiographic images, serum total thyroxine levels of ≤5 µg/dl, systolic blood pressure of ≤180 mmHg, and absence of aortic stenosis. All cases were necropsied. RESULTS: Cardiomyocyte hypertrophy (mean diameter, 18.3 ± 1.8 µm), myocardial fiber disarray (70%), interstitial fibrosis (80%), and small vessel disease (100%) were assessed. In dogs with HCM, the left ventricles were concentric, almost symmetrical, and hypertrophied above the aortic diameter. The end-diastolic interventricular septum normalized to body weight [intraventricular septal thickness in diastole (IVSDN)] was 0.788 [interquartile range (IQR), 0.7-0.92], which exceeded the normal range (5%-95%, IQR: 0.33-0.52). In total, 70% of the dogs with HCM had syncope and dyspnea, and all dogs had high cTnI levels (median, 3.94 ng/ml), exceeding the upper limit of normal (0.11 ng/ml) and indicating cardiomyocyte damage. IVSDN and serum cTnI levels were correlated (= 0.839,= 0.01). CONCLUSION: Ventricular wall thickening and high serum cTnI levels can provide a presumptive diagnosis of HCM and prompt the initiation of treatment or additional diagnostic investigations.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37545712/