Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with heart damage and fast irregular heartbeat after albuterol
By Matos, J et al.·Published in Schweizer Archiv fur Tierheilkunde·2012·Abteilung fü·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: [Myocardial damage and paroxysmal ventricular tachycardia in a dog after Albuterol intoxication].
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 5-year-old male Labrador was brought in after showing signs of excitement, rapid breathing, and a fast heartbeat due to Albuterol poisoning. The vet found that the dog had dangerously low potassium levels, which can lead to muscle weakness and heart rhythm issues. After treatment to correct the potassium levels, the dog continued to have episodes of fast heartbeats, indicating heart damage. With careful monitoring and treatment, including repeated blood tests and heart monitoring, the dog fully recovered and no longer showed any signs of heart problems.
People also search for: dog Albuterol poisoning symptoms · Labrador fast heartbeat treatment · dog heart damage recovery
Abstract
Intoxication with the beta2-agonist Albuterol may lead to immediate signs of beta-adrenergic stimulation like excitation, tachypnea and tachycardia. Furthermore, it typically causes severe hypokalemia, which then leads to muscle weakness and which predisposes to ventricular arrhythmias. We describe a dog where albuterol intoxication caused runs of fast paroxysmal ventricular tachycardia that persisted after normalization of the hypokalemia. Based on a markedly elevated serum troponin I level acute myocardial damage was identified as cause of the tachyarrhythmia. Repeated Troponin I measurements and Holter-ECGs were the means to document complete cure.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22753254/