Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Echocardiographic heart changes in dogs from high-altitude low oxygen
By Glaus, Tony M et al.·Published in Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology Association·2004·Department of Large Animal Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Echocardiographic changes induced by moderate to marked hypobaric hypoxia in dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of Greenland dogs was studied to see how high-altitude conditions affected their heart function. The dogs were examined at different altitudes, and it was found that those at higher altitudes showed changes in their heart's pumping ability and blood flow patterns. Specifically, some heart measurements indicated that the dogs experienced increased pressure in their lungs due to the low oxygen levels at high altitudes. However, the results were not clear enough to reliably diagnose mild to moderate pulmonary hypertension in individual dogs.
People also search for: dog heart problems high altitude · Greenland dog pulmonary hypertension · symptoms of heart issues in dogs
Abstract
Hypobaric (high-altitude) hypoxia is a physiologic cause of pulmonary hypertension, and alters left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic function. In the presence of tricuspid regurgitation, systolic pulmonary artery pressure can be measured noninvasively using the peak tricuspid regurgitation velocity and the Bernoulli equation. In the absence of measurable tricuspid regurgitation, severity of pulmonary hypertension may be estimated using two-dimensional, M-mode, and Doppler-derived parameters. To evaluate the usefulness of echocardiographic parameters for detecting mild-to-moderate pulmonary hypertension caused by moderate-to-marked hypoxia and to study the effect of high-altitude hypoxia on systolic and diastolic LV function in dogs, 19 Greenland dogs were examined at moderate altitude (2300 m) and high altitude (3500 m), and 10 Greenland control dogs were examined at 700-900 m. Evaluated parameters were pulmonary flow profile (shape, right ventricular acceleration time (RVAT), ejection time (RVET), RVAT/ET), peak mitral inflow velocities (LVE, LVA, LVE/A-ratio), LV % fractional shortening (FS), systolic time intervals (LVPEP, LVPEP/ET), and stroke volume index (SVI). Notching during deceleration was common in dogs at high altitude and in the control dogs, but not in dogs at moderate altitude. RVAT was shorter in dogs at high altitude compared with moderate altitude, but not compared with control dogs. Peak A-velocity was higher and E/A-ratio was lower in dogs at high altitude compared with moderate altitude and control dogs. FS was increased in dogs at high altitude compared with moderate altitude, and LVPEP and LVPEP/ET were shorter in the dogs at high altitude compared with moderate altitude and control dogs. In conclusion, significant differences in pulmonary flow profiles and systolic and diastolic parameters can be observed echocardiographically in dogs at different degrees of hypobaric hypoxia. However, overlap between the groups compromises their usefulness for diagnosing and estimating the degree of mild-to-moderate pulmonary hypertension in individual dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15200262/