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Peer-reviewed veterinary case report

Survival and heart death risks in dogs with mitral valve disease

By Bagardi, M et al.·Published in Polish journal of veterinary sciences·2021·University of Milan, Italy·View original on PubMed

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Original publication title: Multiple retrospective analysis of survival and evaluation of cardiac death predictors in a population of dogs affected by degenerative mitral valve disease in ACVIM class C treated with different therapeutic protocols.

Species:
dog

Plain-English summary

A group of dogs with degenerative mitral valve disease (DMVD) and signs of congestive heart failure (CHF) were studied to understand their survival rates and predictors of cardiac death. The average survival time for these dogs was about 531 days, but it dropped to around 335 days for those examined more recently. Factors like the size of the heart's left atrium and the severity of pulmonary hypertension were linked to a higher risk of cardiac death. However, the type of treatment they received did not significantly affect how long they lived.

People also search for: dog heart disease treatment · congestive heart failure in dogs · mitral valve disease survival in dogs

Abstract

Clinical records of dogs with spontaneous degenerative mitral valve disease (DMVD) with clinical signs related to congestive heart failure (CHF) recruited during routine clinical practice between 2001 and 2018 at the Cardiology Unit of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital (University of Milan) were included in this retrospective cohort study. Baseline echocardiographic data were evaluated. Median survival time (MST) was calculated. Data on therapeutic treatment, ISACHC (International Small Animal Cardiac Health Council) or ACVIM (American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine) classes were reviewed based on the inclusion period and type of endpoint (i.e. cardiac death or death for other causes). A univocal classification was needed, and the patients classified in ISACHC classes II, IIIa and IIIb, visited before 2009, were reallocated to ACVIM class C. The main goal of this data review was to retrospectively evaluate 259 clinical records of subjects belonging to ACVIM C class examined between 2001 to 2018 and 202 dogs examined between 2010 to 2018. In this way, in the second group, the bias of the reclassification was avoided. The MST (median survival time) of these subjects was 531 d (2001-2018) and 335.5 d (2010-2018), respectively. Univariate survival regression analysis for subjects included from 2010 to 2018 showed as significantly related to cardiac death (CD): left atrium to aorta ratio (LA/Ao) (HR 2.754, p=0.000), E wave (HR 2.961, p=0.000), E/A ratio (HR 1.372, p=0.000), end-diastolic (HR 1.007, p=0.000) (EDVI) and end-systolic (HR 1.012, p=0.026) (ESVI) volume indexes, allometric diastolic (HR 4.018, p=0.000) (LVIDdN) and systolic (HR 2.674, p=0.049) (LVIDsN) left ventricular internal diameters, age (HR 1.006, p=0.009) and pulmonary hypertension severity (HR=1.309, p=0.012) (PH). Multivariate analysis, adjusted for age, showed that the only variable that determined a statistically significant difference in MST was PH severity (HR 1.334, p=0.033). The type of therapeutic treatment within this class was not significant for the MST of the subjects.

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Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33847106/