Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Pimobendan effects on heart blood flow in dogs with mitral valve
By Apple, S M et al.·Published in Australian veterinary journal·2016·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Effects of pimobendan on myocardial perfusion and pulmonary transit time in dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease: a pilot study.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD), a common heart condition, were studied to see how a medication called pimobendan affected their heart function. The dogs had increased pulmonary transit time (nPTT), which means it took longer for blood to move through their lungs. After one week of treatment with pimobendan, their nPTT decreased, indicating an improvement in heart function. However, the overall blood flow to the heart muscle (myocardial perfusion) did not show significant changes. This suggests that pimobendan can help improve certain aspects of heart function in dogs with MMVD.
People also search for: dog heart disease treatment · pimobendan for dogs · myxomatous mitral valve disease symptoms
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To describe pulmonary transit time (nPTT) and myocardial perfusion (nMP) normalised to heart rate in dogs with stable ACVIM stage C myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) and to assess short-term effects of pimobendan on these variables. We hypothesised that nPTT and nMP would increase in dogs with MMVD compared with normal dogs. Additionally, we hypothesised that treatment with pimobendan would decrease nMP and nPTT in dogs with MMVD. DESIGN: Prospective, single-blind study involving 6 normal dogs and 12 dogs with MMVD. METHODS: Dogs with MMVD were treated with enalapril and furosemide for at least 1 month prior to examination. All dogs underwent standard and contrast echocardiographic examinations at the beginning of the study (T0). At this time, MMVD dogs were randomly assigned to receive either pimobendan (0.4-0.6 mg/kg) or not. All dogs with MMVD were re-evaluated by standard and contrast echocardiography after 1 week (T1) and nPTT and nMP were measured. RESULTS: nPTT was significantly increased in dogs with MMVD (P = 0.0063), compared with normal dogs. It was significantly decreased at T1 in dogs receiving pimobendan (P = 0.0250). The nMP was not significantly different in dogs with MMVD, compared with healthy dogs (P = 0.2552), and it was not significantly different at T1 in the treatment group (P = 0.8798). CONCLUSIONS: Contrast echocardiography was a valid, complementary tool for echocardiographic analysis of dogs with MMVD. Pimobendan decreased nPTT in dogs affected by MMVD. Myocardial perfusion was not different in dogs with severe MMVD.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27569835/