Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Doppler echocardiographic description of double-inlet left ventricle in an Arabian horse.
- Journal:
- Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology
- Year:
- 2010
- Authors:
- Sedacca, Cassidy D et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Clinical Sciences · United States
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
This study describes a rare heart condition in an Arabian horse where both heart valves lead into a single large chamber instead of two separate ones. In this case, the horse had a type of this condition known as double-inlet left ventricle, along with a small right ventricle, two holes in the heart wall, and a narrowed mitral valve. The researchers used a special ultrasound technique called Doppler echocardiography to diagnose the problem before the horse passed away and to check how blood was flowing in the heart. The results suggest that this ultrasound method is a helpful and safe way to assess horses with similar heart issues.
Abstract
Univentricular atrioventricular (AV) connections are rare and complex congenital cardiac anomalies in which both AV valves communicate into a large, common (single) receiving chamber. The common chamber can be of left, right, or mixed ventricular morphology. Although well documented in people, reports of the double-inlet ventricle malformation are rare in the veterinary literature. This report provides description of an Arabian horse with a double-inlet univentricular connection of left ventricular type, a hypoplastic subpulmonary right ventricle, two muscular ventricular septal defects, and a stenotic mitral valve. Transthoracic Doppler echocardiography enabled antemortem diagnosis, and provided an assessment of intracardiac hemodynamics. The findings indicate that Doppler echocardiography is a useful, noninvasive tool for evaluating equine patients with congenital univentricular AV connections, such as a double-inlet left ventricle.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20634162/