Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Atenolol treatment and 5-year survival in cats with early heart
By Schober, Karsten E et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology·2013·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Effect of treatment with atenolol on 5-year survival in cats with preclinical (asymptomatic) hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 63 cats with early signs of heart disease called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) were treated with a medication called atenolol to see if it would help them live longer. Over five years, the study found that while more cats with HCM died from heart-related issues compared to healthy cats, atenolol did not significantly improve survival rates for those with HCM. The only factors that seemed to influence how long the cats lived were their age and the size of a specific heart chamber at diagnosis. Overall, the treatment did not show a clear benefit in extending life for these cats.
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Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of treatment with atenolol on 5-year survival in cats with preclinical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). ANIMALS: 63 Client-owned cats with preclinical HCM and 31 healthy control cats. METHODS: Prospective, observational, open-label, clinical cohort study. Cats with HCM were diagnosed by echocardiography, treated with atenolol (6.25-12.5 mg q12h, PO; n = 42) or untreated (n = 21), and were observed for 5 years after enrollment. The study end point was death from any cause. Cats of similar body weight, age, gender, and breed without evidence of heart disease were studied concurrently and served as controls. RESULTS: During the observational period, 27 cats with HCM died; 14 (22%) due to cardiac disease and 13 (21%) due to non-cardiac disease. Ten control cats (32%) died of non-cardiac disease. There was no significant difference (P = 0.307) in all-cause mortality between control and HCM. Cardiac mortality was higher in cats with HCM compared to control cats (P = 0.005). There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality (P = 0.729) and cardiac mortality (P = 0.897) between cats with HCM treated or untreated with atenolol. Age and left atrial size at diagnosis were the only predictors of 5-year outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Our study failed to demonstrate an effect of atenolol on 5-year survival in cats with preclinical HCM.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23684504/