Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Endocardial fibroelastosis causing heart failure in a young dog
By Schreiber, N et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology·2020·Clinic for Small Animal Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Endocardial fibroelastosis in a dog with congestive heart failure.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 6-month-old female Japanese spitz was brought to the vet because she was having severe breathing problems. Tests showed that her heart was enlarged and not pumping effectively, but common heart issues weren't found. Unfortunately, she passed away just two days after being admitted. A postmortem examination revealed a rare condition called endocardial fibroelastosis, which caused thickening of the heart's inner lining. This condition can lead to heart failure in young dogs, especially when other causes have been ruled out.
People also search for: dog breathing problems · Japanese spitz heart failure · endocardial fibroelastosis in dogs
Abstract
In a 6-month-old, intact female, Japanese spitz presenting with severe dyspnea, lung ultrasonography revealed confluent B lines associated with severe echocardiographic left sided volume overload and systolic dysfunction. A congenital shunt or valvular dysplasia was not demonstrable. On electrocardiogram, there was a constant sinus rhythm, respectively sinus tachycardia. Cardiac troponin I was normal. Within 2 days of admission, the dog died of heart failure. On macroscopic postmortem examination, the left ventricle and atrium were markedly dilated, and the left ventricular endocardium had a mild diffuse whitish appearance. Histopathology revealed moderate to severe thickening of the left ventricular endocardium, composed mostly of abundant elastic fibers and fewer collagen fibers, diagnostic for endocardial fibroelastosis. In addition, there were mild degenerative changes of the atrioventricular valves. Endocardial fibroelastosis is a rare congenital disease and should be considered in a young dog if more common causes of echocardiographic dilated cardiomyopathy phenotype are ruled out.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33091799/