Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
P-wave dispersion differences in healthy dogs and dogs with heart
By Noszczyk-Nowak, Agnieszka et al.·Published in Acta veterinaria Scandinavica·2011·Department of Internal Diseases with Clinic for Horses·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Comparison of P-wave dispersion in healthy dogs, dogs with chronic valvular disease and dogs with disturbances of supraventricular conduction.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study looked at the heart health of dogs by measuring something called P-wave dispersion, which can indicate heart problems. They found that healthy dogs had a P-wave dispersion of up to 24 milliseconds, while dogs with chronic valvular disease or issues with heart conduction had significantly higher values. This means that if your dog has heart issues, their P-wave dispersion can help veterinarians assess the severity of the condition. The researchers concluded that this measurement could be a useful tool for monitoring heart health in dogs.
People also search for: dog heart disease symptoms · what is P-wave dispersion in dogs · chronic valvular disease in dogs
Abstract
BACKGROUND: P-wave dispersion (Pd) is a new ECG index used in human cardiology and veterinary medicine. It is defined as the difference between the maximum and the minimum P-wave duration recorded from multiple different ECG leads. So far no studies were performed assessing the importance of P-wave dispersion in dogs. METHODS: The current study was aimed at determining proper value of Pd in healthy dogs (group I), dogs with chronic valvular disease (group II) and dogs with disturbances of supraventricular conduction (group III). The tests were carried out in 53 healthy dogs, 23 dogs with chronic valvular disease and 12 dogs with disturbances of supraventricular conduction of various breeds, sexes and body weight from 1,5 to 80 kg, aged between 0,5 and 17 years, submitted to the ECG examination. ECG was acquired in dogs in a standing position with BTL SD-8 electrocardiographic device and analyzed once the recording was enlarged. P-wave duration was calculated in 9 ECG leads (I, II, III, aVR, aVL, aVF, V1, V2, V4) from 5 cardiac cycles. RESULTS: The proper P-wave dispersion in healthy dogs was determined at up to 24 ms. P-wave dispersion was statistically significant increased (p<0.01) in dogs with chronic valvular disease and dogs with disturbances of supraventricular conduction. In dogs with the atrial enlargement the P-wave dispersion is also higher than in healthy dogs, although no significant correlation between the size of left atria and Pd was noticed (p=0.1, r=0,17). CONCLUSIONS: The P-wave dispersion is a constant index in healthy dogs, that is why it can be used for evaluating P wave change in dogs with chronic valvular disease and in dogs with disturbances of supraventricular conduction.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21396110/