Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Congenital aortic narrowing in a 3-month-old kitten
By Szatmári, V·Published in Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology·2022·Department of Clinical Sciences, Netherlands·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Congenital supravalvular aortic stenosis in a kitten.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A three-month-old male Norwegian forest cat was found to have a heart murmur during a routine check-up, even though he showed no symptoms. Tests revealed issues with his heart, including a condition called supravalvular aortic stenosis, which is a rare congenital heart defect. The kitten was started on a medication called atenolol to help manage his condition. After a few months, while the murmur remained, further tests showed some improvement in his heart function, but the severe narrowing of the aorta was still present.
People also search for: kitten heart murmur · Norwegian forest cat heart problems · supravalvular aortic stenosis treatment
Abstract
A three-month-old, male intact Norwegian forest cat without any clinical signs was referred to the cardiology service of the author's teaching hospital for evaluation of a cardiac murmur. The murmur was systolic with an intensity of 4 out of 6 with the point of maximal intensity at the left heart base. Echocardiography revealed a moderate mitral valve regurgitation and a moderate dynamic left ventricular outflow tract obstruction both resulting from systolic anterior motion of the mitral valve (SAM). Moreover, left ventricular concentric hypertrophy was noted. Oral atenolol therapy was initiated. Recheck examination 3.5 months later revealed unchanged murmur characteristics in the still asymptomatic kitten. Echocardiography showed no SAM, but there was a severe fixed aortic stenosis apparent caused by a discrete supravalvular lesion, 4 mm distal to the valve, with an hourglass morphology. Supravalvular aortic stenosis is a rare congenital anomaly in cats, which has not been reported antemortem yet.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35567886/