Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Signs and heart ultrasound of dogs with heartworms in the heart
By Romano, Abigail E et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2021·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Intracardiac heartworms in dogs: Clinical and echocardiographic characteristics in 72 cases (2010-2019).
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 72 dogs with heartworms was studied to understand how these parasites affected their health. Most of the dogs were small breeds, like Chihuahuas, and many showed signs of serious heart issues and lethargy. About 43% had dark urine, which can indicate kidney problems, and 25% showed severe symptoms known as caval syndrome, which can be life-threatening. The study found that echocardiograms (ultrasound of the heart) were helpful in diagnosing the problem and assessing the severity of heartworm infection. Treatment options would typically include medications to kill the heartworms and supportive care for any complications.
People also search for: dog heartworm symptoms · caval syndrome in dogs · treatment for heartworms in small dogs
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Heartworms, a cause of pulmonary hypertension (PH) in dogs, can migrate from the pulmonary arteries into the heart resulting in life-threatening caval syndrome (CS). OBJECTIVES: To describe clinical and echocardiographic characteristics in dogs with intracardiac heartworms including estimated heartworm burden and frequency of PH and pigmenturia. ANIMALS: Seventy-two client-owned dogs with heartworms. METHODS: Retrospective study. Data collected from an electronic medical records search for dogs with intracardiac heartworms included clinicopathologic, echocardiographic, and procedural findings. Dogs with heartworms isolated to the pulmonary arteries were excluded. RESULTS: Estimated intracardiac heartworm burden was low in 14 of 72 (19%) and high in 58 of 72 (81%) dogs. The majority were small breed (54/72; 75%; 29/72; 40% Chihuahuas) and had a high likelihood of PH (67/72; 93%). Pigmenturia was the second most common clinical finding (31/72; 43%) after lethargy (32/72; 44%). Anemia (37/55; 36%), pigmenturia (30/58; 52%), and bilirubinuria (28/36; 78%) were significantly more common in dogs with a high worm burden (P < .05). Based on the presence of anemia, pigmenturia, and clinical signs, 18 of 72 dogs (25%) were considered to have CS. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Although the majority of dogs with intracardiac heartworms had a high worm burden and high likelihood of PH, only 25% had clinical evidence of CS. Echocardiography is a useful tool to identify intracardiac heartworms, detect likelihood of PH, and could be useful for staging heartworm positive small breed dogs for intracardiac heartworm migration.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33617036/