Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Measuring mitral valve size in English Bull Terriers with heart
By Chompoosan, C et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology·2021·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Transthoracic two-dimensional and three-dimensional echocardiography for the measurement of mitral valve area planimetry in English Bull Terriers with and without heart disease.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of English Bull Terriers (BTs) underwent heart tests to check for mitral valve disease, which can cause breathing problems and lethargy. The study found that BTs generally had smaller mitral valve areas compared to Boxers, and some BTs were diagnosed with mitral stenosis (a narrowing of the valve) based on their measurements. The researchers confirmed that both two-dimensional and three-dimensional echocardiography techniques were effective for diagnosing this condition in BTs. This means that if your BT shows signs of heart issues, these imaging techniques can help your vet assess their heart health accurately.
People also search for: English Bull Terrier heart disease symptoms · mitral stenosis in dogs · echocardiography for dog heart problems
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Mitral valve area (MVA) planimetry is used to diagnose and classify mitral stenosis (MS) in humans using two-dimensional and three-dimensional echocardiography (MVAand MVA). This study aimed to evaluate agreement, feasibility, and observer variability between MVAand MVAin English Bull Terriers (BT). Our hypotheses were (1) that the MVA of BT is generally smaller than that of breeds with similar body weight and (2) that these techniques could be used to diagnose MS in BTs. ANIMALS: Twenty healthy BTs, 15 healthy Boxers, and 49 BTs with heart disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective diagnostic agreement study was conducted. All dogs underwent a thorough clinical examination, conventional transthoracic echocardiography, and three-dimensional echocardiography. RESULTS: Bland-Altman plots (limits of agreement: 0.12-1.5) showed consistent bias and poor agreement between MVAand MVA. For the 69 BTs, MVA(2.1 ± 0.50 cm) measurements were significantly lower than MVAmeasurements (2.9 ± 0.60 cm), and healthy BTs had significantly lower MVA parameters than healthy Boxers (p < 0.001). Intraobserver and interobserver variability were excellent for both MVAand MVA(intraclass correlation coefficient >0.9). Six BTs were diagnosed with MS, with MVAless than 1.8 cmand a mean transmitral gradient (MTG) of more than 5 mmHg. CONCLUSIONS: Both MVAand MVAare feasible, have low observer variability and can be used to diagnose MS in BTs. For assessing the narrowest orifice area, the preferred method is MVA. The smaller MVA in BTs compared to Boxers may indicate some degree of MS.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34298447/