Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Baseline traits of dogs with mitral valve disease in LOOK-Mitral study
By Franchini, A et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology·2021·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: The Longitudinal Outcome Of Canine (K9) myxomatous mitral valve disease (LOOK-Mitral registry): Baseline characteristics.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 10-year-old mixed-breed dog was diagnosed with myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD), a common heart condition in older dogs. Symptoms can include coughing, difficulty breathing, and fainting spells, especially in more advanced stages of the disease. In a large study of over 6,000 dogs, many with MMVD also had other health issues, such as respiratory problems. The findings help veterinarians understand how to better manage and treat dogs with this condition, particularly as symptoms worsen.
People also search for: dog heart disease symptoms · myxomatous mitral valve disease treatment · coughing in older dogs
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: The Longitudinal Outcome Of Canine (K9) myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) registry (LOOK-Mitral registry) was established to describe the natural history and predictors of outcome in dogs affected by MMVD. This study was intended to describe the baseline characteristics of dogs in the LOOK-mitral registry. ANIMALS: Dogs with echocardiographic evidence of MMVD were prospectively enrolled by thirteen referral centers. RESULTS: A total of 6102 dogs with MMVD were included. The median age was 10 years (1-19 years), and mixed breed was the most common breed (n = 1,360, 22%). Concomitant diseases were reported in 2459 dogs with chronic respiratory diseases occurring most frequently (14%), followed by the presence of azotemia (6%) and orthopedic diseases (5%). Regarding disease severity, 65% of dogs were in ACVIM Stage-B1, 15% in Stage-B2, and 20% in Stage-C. Dogs in Stage-B1 were younger (p<0.001) than dogs in other stages. Murmur intensity, heart rate during physical examination, and radiographic vertebral heart score were positively associated with the stage. Dogs in Stage-C were more likely to have tachypnea (p<0.001), dyspnea (p<0.001), cough (p<0.001), syncopal episodes (p<0.001), and tachyarrhythmias (p<0.001) compared to dogs in Stage-B1 and B2. Echocardiographic indices of left atrial and ventricular size were positively correlated with the ACVIM stage. Interestingly, 4% of dogs that weighed <20 kg had an increased normalized end-systolic left ventricle internal diameter (>1.26). CONCLUSIONS: This study contributes to a better understanding of the clinical characteristics of dogs affected by MMVD and provides new findings that may be of clinical relevance.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34062479/