Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Small heart hole in 5-month-old Maltese dog healed on its own
By Rausch, William P & Keene, Bruce W·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2003·Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Spontaneous resolution of an isolated ventricular septal defect in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 5-month-old Maltese was brought to the vet because a heart murmur was detected during a routine check-up. Tests showed a small hole in the heart (ventricular septal defect) that was not causing any noticeable symptoms or health issues. The vet decided no treatment was necessary since the defect was small and not affecting the dog's health. When the dog returned for a check-up seven months later, the hole had closed on its own, showing that some heart defects in dogs can resolve without intervention.
People also search for: Maltese heart murmur · dog heart defect treatment · congenital heart disease in dogs
Abstract
A 5-month-old Maltese was examined because of a holosystolic heart murmur. Results of echocardiography were suggestive of a small isolated interventricular septal defect. Color flow and pulsed-wave spectral Doppler echocardiography confirmed that there was left-to-right blood flow through the defect during systole and diastole. Because of the small size of the defect, the large systolic pressure differential between the ventricles (72.6 mm Hg), and the lack of clinical signs, the small amount of left-to-right shunting was considered clinically unimportant, and no medication or treatment was recommended. Seven months later, the dog was re-examined, and trans-septal blood flow was no longer seen. Isolated interventricular septal defects are a common congenital heart disorder in some breeds of dogs. Such defects may be subclinical in some dogs. In others, they cause a wide spectrum of clinical problems. Findings in this dog suggest that interventricular septal defects may close spontaneously in some dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12875450/