Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Mitral valve leaking found in 44% of healthy Norfolk terriers
By Bodegård-Westling, A et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology·2017·Anicura Albano Animal Hospital·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Prevalence of mitral valve regurgitation in 79 asymptomatic Norfolk terriers.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 79 healthy Norfolk terriers were examined for heart murmurs and mitral valve regurgitation (MR), a condition where blood leaks backward through the heart valve. During the check-up, 15 dogs had a murmur, and 35 dogs were found to have MR, which was more common in older dogs. While many of these dogs showed no symptoms, the findings suggest that MR is quite prevalent in this breed. Further studies are needed to understand how this condition affects their long-term health.
People also search for: Norfolk terrier heart murmur · mitral valve regurgitation in dogs · symptoms of heart problems in dogs
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of mitral valve regurgitation (MR) in asymptomatic Swedish Norfolk terriers. ANIMALS: Seventy-nine privately owned Norfolk terriers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective observational study was conducted where dogs were recruited via the Swedish Norfolk terrier club. All dogs were examined using the same protocol including physical examination and Doppler echocardiography. RESULTS: Fifteen dogs (19%) had a murmur at the time of the examination. A total of 35 dogs (44%) had MR, including 23 dogs (29%) with both MR and tricuspid valve regurgitation and 12 dogs (15%) with MR only, identified on Doppler echocardiography. In addition, 7 dogs (9%) had tricuspid valve regurgitation only. The prevalence of MR increased with increasing age (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Mitral valve regurgitation is common in asymptomatic Norfolk terriers with and without murmurs and the prevalence increases with age. The impact of MR in this breed on survival remains to be elucidated by a longitudinal study.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28284984/