Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Epicardial pacemakers help cats with slow heartbeats and collapse
By Rossanese, Matteo et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2025·Royal Veterinary College, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Epicardial pacemaker placement in cats is associated with resolution of clinical signs and excellent quality of life.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of cats with serious heart issues, including fainting spells and slow heart rates, underwent surgery to have epicardial pacemakers implanted. After the procedure, which had some complications for a few cats, all of them recovered and were discharged. Owners reported that their cats showed significant improvement in their symptoms and overall quality of life. The pacemaker placement proved to be an effective solution for managing heart problems in these cats, leading to happier and healthier pets.
People also search for: cat fainting spells treatment · cat slow heart rate pacemaker · improving cat quality of life after surgery
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To describe complications and outcomes in cats undergoing epicardial pacemaker (EP) implantation for artificial cardiac pacing and to investigate improvement in clinical signs and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) following surgery. METHODS: 39 client-owned cats that underwent EP placement. Medical records of 4 UK-based referral hospitals were searched and data reviewed retrospectively between July 2010 and December 2022. An HRQoL questionnaire was used to assess outcomes and HRQoL. RESULTS: The primary reasons for referral included collapsing episodes (n = 27) and bradycardia (31). Third-degree atrioventricular block (29 of 39) was the predominant indication for pacemaker placement. Intra- and postoperative complications were documented in 3 of 39 and 14 of 39 cats, respectively. All cats survived to discharge, and median follow-up time was 719 days (range, 9 to 2,285 days). Owners reported improvement in clinical signs, high level of satisfaction, and improved HRQoL. CONCLUSIONS: Epicardial pacemaker placement effectively resolves clinical signs of bradyarrhythmias in cats, leading to significant improvements in HRQoL. Postoperative complications are common but do not impact the overall outcome. Cats undergoing EP placement have an excellent HRQoL with an improvement in clinical signs and a high level of owner satisfaction. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Epicardial pacemaker placement is the current method of choice for cats showing clinical signs and requiring artificial cardiac pacing. Despite the occurrence of postoperative complications, these did not adversely impact overall outcomes, with high owner satisfaction reported.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39579478/