Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Ventricular arrhythmias common in cats with heart thickening
By Bartoszuk, U et al.·Published in Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)·2019·Clinic for Small Animal Internal Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Holter monitoring demonstrates that ventricular arrhythmias are common in cats with decompensated and compensated hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A study found that cats with heart disease, specifically hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), often experience irregular heartbeats known as arrhythmias. In this research, 41 cats were monitored, including those with compensated HCM (cHCM) and decompensated HCM (dHCM), revealing that both groups had significantly more arrhythmias compared to healthy cats. Despite the high number of irregular heartbeats, there was no clear link between these arrhythmias and the cats' overall health or survival. Unfortunately, 13 of the cats with HCM passed away during the study, but the presence of arrhythmias did not seem to predict their outcomes.
People also search for: cat heart disease symptoms · cat arrhythmia treatment · hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in cats
Abstract
Arrhythmias can complicate cardiac disease in cats and are a potential cause of sudden death. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence and nature of cardiac arrhythmias, and the potential correlation between plasma serum troponin I (cTnI) concentrations and the presence or severity of arrhythmias in cats with decompensated (dHCM) and compensated hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (cHCM). Forty one client-owned cats were studied: 16 with cHCM, 15 with dHCM and 10 healthy control cats. Physical examination, echocardiography, cTnI and 24-h Holter recordings were obtained in all cats and thoracic radiographs in cats with dHCM. Cats in both HCM groups were followed for 1 year after their initial Holter examination. The median (range) number of ventricular premature complexes (VPCs) over 24h was 867 (1-35,160) in cats with dHCM, 431 (0-18,919) in cats with cHCM and 2 (0-13) in healthy control cats. The median number of episodes of ventricular tachycardia (VTach) was 0 (0-1497) in dHCM and 0.5 (0-91) in cats with cHCM. The number of VPCs, VTach episodes and heart rate was not different between the HCM groups. Plasma serum troponin I was highest in the cats with dHCM, but there was no correlation between cTnI concentration and the number of arrhythmias. Thirteen of 31 cats with HCM died, but an association with the presence and complexity of ventricular arrhythmias was not observed. Compared to healthy cats, ventricular arrhythmias were common in cats with cHCM and dHCM, but neither presence nor complexity of arrhythmias could be linked to prognosis.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30606435/