Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Weakness and fainting in West Highland terriers with sick sinus
By Moneva-Jordan, A et al.·Published in The Veterinary record·2001·Hospital for Small Animals, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Sick sinus syndrome in nine West Highland white terriers.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Nine West Highland white terriers, mostly female, were diagnosed with sick sinus syndrome, which caused them to experience episodes of weakness and fainting. Tests showed various heart rhythm problems, but none had congestive heart failure. While some dogs responded to medications like propantheline bromide, only two had long-term control of their symptoms. The most effective treatment was the implantation of a transvenous pacemaker, which successfully helped six of the dogs manage their condition.
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Abstract
Sick sinus syndrome is a clinical term used to describe the clinical signs of sinus node dysfunction. This paper describes the clinical data from nine West Highland white terriers, eight females and one male, in which a diagnosis of sick sinus syndrome was made. The most common clinical signs were episodic weakness and presyncope. Electrocardiographic findings included sinus bradycardia, sinus arrest with or without escape complexes, disturbances of atrioventricular conduction, paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia, or some combination of these dysrhythmias. The main radiographic changes were mild right-sided cardiomegaly in five cases, and a slight increase in bronchial and interstitial markings in four, but there was no evidence of congestive heart failure in any of the dogs. Echocardiography revealed mild to moderate mitral endocardiosis in three cases with no other significant abnormalities. The dogs' responses to parenteral atropine were variable and were not necessarily related to their response to oral anticholinergic agents. Five of the dogs were initially treated with propantheline bromide, but in only two of them were the clinical signs controlled in the long term. Six of the dogs were successfully treated by the implantation of a transvenous pacemaker.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11271916/