Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Pulmonary blood flow changes in cats with heart muscle disease
By Streitberger, Andrea et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology·2015·Traunkreis Vet Clinic·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Increased normalized pulmonary transit times and pulmonary blood volumes in cardiomyopathic cats with or without congestive heart failure.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 48 cats with heart issues were studied to see how well certain tests could identify congestive heart failure (CHF). The researchers found that cats with cardiomyopathy (a heart muscle disease) and CHF had longer pulmonary transit times (how long blood takes to move through the lungs) compared to healthy cats and those with cardiomyopathy alone. The tests showed that higher blood volume in the lungs was linked to longer transit times, helping to predict CHF. This information could help veterinarians assess heart health in cats more effectively.
People also search for: cat heart disease symptoms · congestive heart failure in cats · echocardiogram for cats · cardiomyopathy treatment in cats
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To estimate heart rate-normalized pulmonary transit times (nPTTs) in cardiomyopathic cats with or without congestive heart failure (CHF). To assess potential associations of echocardiographic variables and nPTT and to evaluate nPTT as a test for the presence of CHF. ANIMALS: Forty-eight privately owned cats. METHODS: nPTT was measured using echocardiography and the ultrasound contrast media SonoVue(®) in 3 groups of cats: healthy cats (group 1), cats with cardiomyopathy (CM) but without CHF (group 2), and cats with CM and CHF (group 3). Interrelations between pulmonary blood volume (PBV), nPTT, stroke volume (SV), and echocardiographic variables were investigated by means of linear univariate and multivariate analysis. RESULTS: Median nPTT values in group 1, group 2, and group 3 were 3.63 (interquartile range [IQR], 3.20-4.22), 6.09 (IQR, 5.0-7.02), and 8.49 (IQR, 7.58-11.04), respectively. Values were significantly different between all 3 groups. Median PBVs in group 1, group 2, and group 3 were 27.94 mL (IQR, 21.02-33.17 mL), 42.83 mL (IQR, 38.46-50.36 mL) and 49.48 mL (IQR, 38.84-64.39 mL). SV, PBV, and shortening fraction <30% were significant predictors of nPTT. nPTT and left atrial to aortic root (LA:AO) ratio, not SV, were the main predictors of PBV. CONCLUSION: nPTT may be useful as a test for the presence of CHF in cats with CM and as a measure of cardiac performance. nPTT and LA:AO ratios predict CHF with equal accuracy. Increased PBV is significantly associated with higher nPTT and LA:AO ratios.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25837465/