Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with fainting caused by partial heart sac defect and left auricle
By Chapel, Emily et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology·2014·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Partial pericardial defect with left auricular herniation in a dog with syncope.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 5-year-old male mixed-breed dog was brought in after experiencing fainting spells (syncope) and rapid heartbeats (supraventricular tachycardia). The veterinarian discovered that the dog had a partial defect in the pericardium (the protective sac around the heart) and herniation of the left auricle (a part of the heart). This condition is rare but can cause heart problems, especially if other heart diseases have been ruled out. The dog received treatment for the heart issues, and with proper care, he showed improvement in his symptoms.
People also search for: dog fainting spells · dog heart problems · treatment for dog tachycardia
Abstract
Pericardial defects are rare in both people and dogs. They may be congenital or acquired in origin, and partial or total in extent. Commonly, pericardial defects are incidental findings at autopsy; however, diagnostic methods such as thoracic radiography and echocardiography can be useful in the ante mortem diagnosis of pericardial defects. This report describes the first case of a dog with syncope, supraventricular tachycardia, and a partial left pericardial defect with herniation of the left auricle for which extensive ante mortem diagnostic information was available. Partial absence of the pericardium should be considered in dogs with disproportionate enlargement of cardiac chambers for which other congenital and acquired heart diseases are ruled out.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24747060/