Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Severe atherosclerosis causing heart failure in two Korat cats
By Karkamo, Veera et al.·Published in Journal of comparative pathology·2021·Production and Companion Animal Pathology Section·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Severe Spontaneous Atherosclerosis in two Korat Breed Cats is Comparable to Human Atherosclerosis.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
Two Korat cats developed severe heart failure due to a rare condition called atherosclerosis, which is usually not seen in cats. The cats showed signs of heart problems as they reached adulthood, and unfortunately, both passed away as their condition worsened. During examinations after their deaths, veterinarians found significant buildup of cholesterol in their arteries, similar to what is seen in humans with advanced heart disease. This case suggests that there may be a genetic link in Korat cats that makes them susceptible to this serious condition.
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Abstract
Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory vascular disease and the leading cause of mortality in humans worldwide. In most domestic animal species, however, primary atherosclerosis is of little clinical relevance. Cats are considered to be atheroresistant and, to our knowledge, spontaneous atherosclerosis has not been reported in cats. Here we report the clinical and histopathological findings in two related cats of the Korat breed that presented with clinical signs of heart failure. In both cases, the clinical signs appeared in adulthood, were progressive and led to death. At necropsy, severe atherosclerotic lesions were present in large and medium-sized arteries and were characterized by the formation of a fibrous cap and a lipid core, which contained a particularly large accumulation of cholesterol crystals, as indicated by the presence of many cholesterol clefts. The lesions closely resembled those of advanced human atherosclerosis. There were no underlying diseases or medical treatments that could have predisposed to the atherosclerosis in these two genetically related cats. A genetic predisposition to human-like atherosclerosis in the local Korat cat population is suspected.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34686278/