Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Atenolol lowers heart rate and obstruction in cats with heart disease
By Jackson, Bethany L et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology·2015·MedVet Medical & Cancer Centers for Pets, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Effect of atenolol on heart rate, arrhythmias, blood pressure, and dynamic left ventricular outflow tract obstruction in cats with subclinical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 17 cats with subclinical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) were treated with atenolol to help manage their heart issues. After 2-4 weeks of treatment, the cats showed significant improvements: their heart rates decreased, the severity of heart murmurs lessened, and there was less obstruction in the heart's outflow tract. The number of abnormal heartbeats also dropped dramatically. Overall, atenolol helped these cats feel better, but more research is needed to see how it affects their long-term health.
People also search for: cat heart murmur treatment · atenolol for cats with HCM · cat heart problems symptoms
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the negative chronotropic, antiarrhythmic, and obstruction-relieving effects of atenolol in cats with subclinical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). ANIMALS: Seventeen cats with HCM. METHODS: Results for echocardiography, electrocardiography, Doppler blood pressure, and 24 h Holter monitoring were compared in cats before and 2-4 weeks after atenolol therapy (6.25-12.5 mg PO q 12 h). RESULTS: The left ventricular outflow tract maximum velocity (LVOT Vmax) decreased after atenolol administration (mean Vmax pre-treatment 3.3 m/s ± 1.8 m/s; post-treatment 1.6 m/s ± 1.0 m/s, p < 0.0001). Heart rate (HR) decreased after atenolol for all HR modalities. The total number of ventricular origin complexes (TotVent) and ventricular premature complexes (VPCs) decreased after atenolol. The VPCs decreased from a geometric mean of 61 complexes/24 h (range, 11-620 complexes/24 h) to 15 complexes/24 h (range, 1-1625 complexes/24 h) (p < 0.0001). Murmur grade decreased after atenolol from a median grade of 3/6 to 2/6 (p < 0.0001). The systolic blood pressure did not change (mean pre-treatment 130 mmHg ± 16 mmHg, mean post-treatment 123 mmHg ± 20 mmHg, p = 0.2). CONCLUSION: Atenolol decreases HR, murmur grade, and LVOT obstruction, and to a lesser degree, frequency of ventricular ectopy, in cats with subclinical HCM. Further studies are needed to determine if sudden cardiac death or long-term outcome is influenced by atenolol administration.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26776587/