Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog heart defect from trauma healed on its own without treatment
By Gardner, L et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology·2022·Queen's Veterinary School Hospital, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Spontaneous closure of a traumatic acquired Gerbode defect in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A one-year-old female English Springer Spaniel was brought in after suffering a blunt trauma that caused a heart defect known as a Gerbode defect, along with a serious heart rhythm issue. Two months later, follow-up tests showed that the defect was nearly closed, and the dog was monitored for heart rhythm problems. After 22 months, the defect had completely closed on its own, and the dog showed no symptoms and did not need any treatment. This case is notable because it’s the first time a spontaneous closure of this type of heart defect has been reported in a dog.
People also search for: dog heart defect treatment · English Springer Spaniel heart problems · spontaneous closure of heart defect in dogs
Abstract
A one-year-old female English Springer Spaniel with no previous history of cardiac disease presented to the Queen's Veterinary School Hospital following a blunt traumatic incident with an acquired, direct Gerbode defect and associated third-degree atrioventricular block. Two months after the initial incident, follow-up echocardiography showed a nearly closed Gerbode defect with just trivial residual flow. A 24-h Holter monitor indicated second-degree atrioventricular block with occasional junctional tachycardia. A reassessment 22 months later confirmed spontaneous closure of the previously acquired traumatic Gerbode defect, with 2:1 second-degree atrioventricular block. The dog remained clinically asymptomatic, and free of treatment. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of spontaneous closure of a previously acquired traumatic Gerbode defect in a dog.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35413633/