Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Primary cardiac hemangiosarcoma in a horse: echocardiographic and necropsy findings.
- Journal:
- Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology
- Year:
- 2020
- Authors:
- Beaumier, A et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Clinical Sciences · United States
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A 17-year-old American Quarter Horse gelding was brought to the vet because he had swelling in his tongue and developed pneumonia from inhaling food or liquid. The vet found that he was dehydrated, and an ultrasound of his chest showed an unusual mass in his heart muscle, along with signs of pneumonia. A detailed heart scan confirmed that this mass was large and replacing part of the heart's right side. Unfortunately, the horse did not get better, and he was put to sleep. A postmortem exam revealed that he had primary cardiac hemangiosarcoma, a type of cancer in the heart, but no other tumors were found in his body.
Abstract
Cardiac hemangiosarcoma, especially primary, is infrequently reported in the horse and remains a diagnostic challenge because of vague clinical signs and difficulty to reach an antemortem diagnosis. A 17-year-old American Quarter Horse gelding was presented with a history of tongue swelling and secondary aspiration pneumonia. Initial assessment indicated dehydration, and thoracic ultrasound revealed an abnormal structure within the myocardium alongside the previously suspected aspiration pneumonia. A subsequent, complete echocardiogram identified a large, heterogeneous, ill-defined mass invading and replacing the normal myocardium of the right ventricular free wall. Because of lack of improvement the horse was euthanized, and postmortem examination confirmed primary cardiac hemangiosarcoma with no further masses identified in other organs. This case is an unusual presentation of primary cardiac hemangiosarcoma for which echocardiography played a significant role in identifying a cardiac mass.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33176251/