Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat with infected aortic valve and heart defects causing breathing
By Brennan, C et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology·2020·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Infective aortic valve endocarditis in a cat with patent ductus arteriosus and perimembranous ventricular septal defect.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 3-year-old male cat was brought in for breathing problems and was found to have serious heart defects along with a growth on the aortic valve, indicating a condition called aortic valve endocarditis. Despite treatment efforts, the cat did not improve, and the owner chose to euthanize him. A necropsy confirmed the heart defects and showed signs of severe lung infection and damage to other organs. This case highlights a rare occurrence of aortic valve endocarditis linked to congenital heart issues in cats.
People also search for: cat breathing problems · cat heart defects · aortic valve endocarditis in cats · cat euthanasia decision · cat lung infection symptoms
Abstract
A 3-year-old, male neutered, domestic short-haired cat presented for evaluation of respiratory distress. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed a left-to-right shunting ventricular septal defect, a left-to-right shunting patent ductus arteriosus, and a vegetative growth on the aortic valve leaflet consistent with aortic valve endocarditis. Because of poor response to therapy, the owner elected euthanasia, and a necropsy was performed. Gross necropsy examination confirmed the congenital cardiac defects, and aortic valve endocarditis was noted on the echocardiogram. Histopathological examination revealed diffuse interstitial pneumonia and evidence for systemic septic embolism including renal infarcts and brain microabscesses. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first case report of aortic valve endocarditis in a cat in association with congenital cardiac malformations.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32956937/