Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Ventricular arrhythmia linked to nerve imbalance after dog spleen
By Pastarapatee, Nuttika et al.·Published in The Journal of veterinary medical science·2017·Department of Physiology·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Imbalance of autonomic nervous systems involved in ventricular arrhythmia after splenectomy in dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs that had their spleens removed (splenectomy) developed heart rhythm problems known as ventricular premature complexes (VPC). Twelve dogs were studied, and those with higher levels of VPC experienced more severe heart issues after surgery, leading to shorter survival times. The dogs with high VPC had increased levels of norepinephrine, a stress hormone, which may have contributed to their heart problems. Monitoring their heart function and hormone levels helped veterinarians understand the risks associated with this surgery.
People also search for: dog heart problems after splenectomy · ventricular arrhythmia in dogs · dog surgery recovery heart issues
Abstract
The role of cardiac autonomic modulation on ventricular arrhythmia, known as ventricular premature complexes (VPC), after splenectomy was investigated. Twelve dogs undergoing splenectomy were divided into 2 groups: low VPC (<1,000/day, n=6) and high VPC groups (≥1,000/day, n=6). Electrocardiograph recording was performed prior to (D0), during the first three days (D1-3) and on day 9 (D9) after surgery. Arrhythmic indices, T-T, corrected QT interval and short-term variability of QT interval as well as heart rate variability (HRV) were evaluated. Plasma concentrations of norepinephrine (NE) and epinephrine (E) were measured. In the high VPC group, the occurrences of VPC were significantly increased (P<0.05) after surgery, and reached the levels higher than those in the low VPC group. For the arrhythmic indices, only Tp-Te in the high VPC group increased significantly (P<0.05) after surgery. For HRV analysis, enhancement of both time and frequency domains were found postoperatively in both groups. On D2, however, the high VPC group showed significantly lower total power and high frequency with higher low to high frequency ratio (P<0.05) than the low VPC group. Plasma NE concentration significantly increased in the high VPC group after surgery. Dogs in the high VPC group had shorter survival time than those in the low VPC group. In conclusion, dogs with imbalance cardiac autonomic modulation accompanied with high circulating NE concentration after splenectomy are prone to ventricular arrhythmia, which leads to short survival time.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29070771/