Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Yearling horse with weight loss had heart defects and aortitis
By Reppas, G P et al.·Published in The Veterinary record·1996·Department of Animal Health, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Multiple congenital cardiac anomalies and idiopathic thoracic aortitis in a horse.
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A yearling thoroughbred filly was losing weight quickly, so veterinarians did tests to find out why. They discovered she had several heart problems, including holes in the walls between her heart chambers, and a high level of a protein that can indicate inflammation. Sadly, after she passed away, a thorough examination showed that she also had severe inflammation of the aorta, the large blood vessel that carries blood from the heart. It seems that this inflammation may have made her heart function poorly. Unfortunately, the treatment did not work, as the filly did not survive.
Abstract
An echocardiographical and clinical pathological investigation of the rapid loss of weight by a yearling thoroughbred filly revealed an atrial septal defect, a ventricular septal defect and hyperfibrinogenaemia. A post mortem examination confirmed the cardiac abnormalities and revealed a severe thoracic aortitis. It is proposed that the idiopathic thoracic aortitis contributed to the horse's compromised cardiovascular homoeostasis.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8825327/