Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How common are heart murmurs in anemic cats
By Matson, Hannah et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary emergency and critical care (San Antonio, Tex. : 2001)·2024·Department of Clinical Science and Services, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: The prevalence of murmurs and gallop sounds in anemic cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of anemic cats was examined in an emergency room, and many were found to have heart murmurs or unusual heart sounds called gallops. Specifically, about 30% of the anemic cats had a murmur, compared to only 11% of cats that weren't anemic. The more severe the anemia, the more likely these heart sounds were present. Some of the anemic cats underwent further heart tests, which showed that while some had normal hearts, others had signs of heart chamber enlargement related to their anemia.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: There is little information on the prevalence of auscultatory abnormalities in anemic cats. This study aimed to describe the prevalence of cardiac murmurs and gallop sounds in a population of anemic and nonanemic cats presenting to an emergency room (ER) and to assess whether the prevalence of auscultatory abnormalities was influenced by the severity of anemia. KEY FINDINGS: Records of cats presenting to an ER between May 2021 and May 2022 or receiving a blood transfusion between September 2019 and January 2022 were retrospectively analyzed for presence of a murmur or gallop sound. Cats with known structural heart disease were excluded. A murmur was found in 56 of 185 (30%) anemic cats compared with 11 of 102 (11%) nonanemic cats (p < 0.001), with a higher proportion in cats with PCV <16% (p < 0.001). Twenty-five of 185 (14%) anemic cats had a gallop compared with 4 of 102 (4%) nonanemic cats (p = 0.009), with the highest proportion in cats with PCV 11%-20% (p < 0.001). Echocardiography was performed on 17 of 185 anemic cats; 8 had normal echocardiograms and 9 demonstrated evidence of chamber dilation without left ventricular wall thickening, consistent with anemia. CONCLUSIONS: Abnormalities on auscultation are common in anemic cats presenting to the ER, with a higher prevalence in more severely anemic cats.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39558465/