Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Using blood troponin I tests to find heart-related breathing trouble
By Wells, Scott M et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2014·New England Animal Medical Center, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Evaluation of blood cardiac troponin I concentrations obtained with a cage-side analyzer to differentiate cats with cardiac and noncardiac causes of dyspnea.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 39 cats with breathing problems (dyspnea) were examined to find out if their symptoms were due to heart issues or other causes. The veterinarians used a quick blood test to measure a protein called cardiac troponin I (cTnI), which is higher in cats with heart problems. They found that 25 of the cats had heart-related issues, and their cTnI levels were significantly higher than those of healthy cats or those with non-heart-related breathing problems. This test could help vets quickly determine the cause of a cat's breathing difficulties in emergency situations.
People also search for: cat breathing problems · cat heart disease symptoms · cTnI test for cats
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether measurement of blood cardiac troponin I (cTnI) concentrations with a cage-side analyzer could be used to differentiate cardiac from noncardiac causes of dyspnea in cats. DESIGN: Prospective, multicenter study. ANIMALS: 44 client-owned cats with dyspnea and 37 healthy staff-owned cats. PROCEDURES: Affected cats were examined because of dyspnea; treatment was administered in accordance with the attending clinician's discretion. Cats were judged to have a cardiac or noncardiac cause of dyspnea on the basis of results of physical examination, thoracic radiography, and echocardiography. Blood cTnI concentrations were determined with a cage-side analyzer on samples collected within 12 hours after admission of affected cats. Concentrations for healthy cats were obtained for comparison. RESULTS: 5 enrolled cats were excluded from the study because of concurrent cardiac and respiratory disease. Of the remaining 39 cats with dyspnea, 25 had a cardiac cause and 14 had a noncardiac cause. The 25 cats with a cardiac cause of dyspnea had a significantly higher blood cTnI concentration than did the 37 healthy cats or the 14 cats with a noncardiac cause of dyspnea. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Measurement of cTnI concentrations with a cage-side assay in emergency settings may be useful for differentiating cardiac from noncardiac causes of dyspnea in cats.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24479456/