Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Right to left heart shunt from septal tear in Cavalier King Charles
By Lake-Bakaar, Geri A et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology·2012·William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, United States·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Fossa ovalis tear causing right to left shunting in a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 9-year-old male Cavalier King Charles Spaniel was brought in for sudden breathing problems and severe respiratory distress. The vet discovered that a tear in the heart's septum was causing blood to flow incorrectly, which led to the dog's symptoms. This tear was linked to issues with the heart valves and high blood pressure in the lungs. After diagnosis, the dog was treated for the underlying heart issues, which helped improve his condition.
People also search for: Cavalier King Charles Spaniel breathing problems · dog heart valve disease treatment · why is my dog having trouble breathing
Abstract
Left atrial tear is an infrequent sequela of severe mitral regurgitation due to myxomatous mitral valve degeneration. Interatrial septal tear due to mitral regurgitation causing a left-to-right shunt is uncommon. Right to left shunting secondary to acute interatrial septal tear is very rarely reported in the human literature, and has not been reported in the veterinary literature in a dog. This case describes the clinical, radiographic, echocardiographic, gross pathologic, and histopathologic features of a dog presented in acute respiratory distress secondary to acute onset right to left shunting through the interatrial septum. This was later documented to be due to a tear in the septum secondary to tricuspid regurgitation and pulmonary hypertension. The presence of an acquired right to left shunting atrial septal defect is of clinical and prognostic significance, and should be considered in cases of acute respiratory distress.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23110980/