PetCaseFinder

Peer-reviewed veterinary case report

Dog with rare four-flap aortic valve and heart defects

By Kettner, Frank et al.·Published in Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association·2005·Department of Companion Animal Clinical Studies·View original on PubMed

PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →

Original publication title: Quadricuspid aortic valve and associated abnormalities in a dog.

Species:
dog

Plain-English summary

An 11-month-old female Scottish terrier was brought to the vet because a heart murmur was detected during a routine check-up. Tests showed that her heart was enlarged, and an ultrasound revealed she had a rare condition called a quadricuspid aortic valve, meaning her heart had four valve flaps instead of the usual three. Additionally, she had a small hole in her heart and some backflow of blood. Fortunately, after a year of monitoring, she showed no signs of heart problems and was doing well.

People also search for: dog heart murmur · Scottish terrier heart problems · quadricuspid aortic valve in dogs

Abstract

An 11-month-old, female Scottish terrier was presented with a history of a heart murmur. The electrocardiogram showed signs of left ventricular enlargement, and radiography confirmed generalized cardiomegaly. Echocardiography revealed four equally sized aortic valve cusps. A ventricular septal defect, with systolic left-to-right shunting, and aortic regurgitation into both ventricles were also present. The dog was free of clinical signs 1 year after diagnosis.

Find similar cases for your pet

PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.

Search related cases →

Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16267066/