Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Heart troponin I levels track severity in dogs with mitral valve
By Chan, I-Ping et al.·Published in The Veterinary record·2019·Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Serial measurements of cardiac troponin I in heart failure secondary to canine mitral valve disease.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with heart failure due to mitral valve disease had their cardiac troponin I (cTnI) levels measured over time to see how it related to their condition. The study found that dogs whose cTnI levels decreased during treatment had a higher risk of heart-related death compared to those without changes. This suggests that while cTnI levels can indicate how severe the heart disease is, changes in these levels may be influenced by the treatments the dogs receive. Pet owners should discuss these findings with their veterinarian for a better understanding of their dog's heart health.
People also search for: dog heart failure treatment · mitral valve disease in dogs · cardiac troponin I levels in dogs
Abstract
Serial measurements of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) levels are considered to be better predictors of cardiac death than single-time-point analyses in human medicine. We hypothesised that cTnI levels could reflect the severity of myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD), and that serial changes in the cTnI level had a prognostic value in dogs with congestive heart failure (CHF) secondary to MMVD. Seventy-six dogs were initially enrolled and classified by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) staging system. The single-timepoint cTnI concentration in these dogs significantly increased with the ACVIM stage. Twenty-seven dogs with CHF subsequently underwent serial measurement of cTnI levels, and the results showed that those who demonstrated a decrease in cTnI levels from the first to the third visit exhibited a higher risk of cardiac death than did those without such changes (P=0.012). We suspect that the downward trend in cTnI levels may be affected by medical treatment for CHF. In conclusion, although cTnI levels could reflect the severity of MMVD to a certain extent, the serial changes may be affected by medical treatment. Therefore, caution should be exercised when cTnI is used for assessment of the prognosis of CHF secondary to MMVD in dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31439824/