Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with tricuspid valve narrowing from pacemaker lead fibrosis
By Connolly, David J et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary cardiology : the official journal of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology·2007·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Tricuspid valve stenosis caused by fibrous adhesions to an endocardial pacemaker lead in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 6.5-year-old Border terrier was brought in for signs of right-sided congestive heart failure, which developed 5.5 years after getting a pacemaker. Tests showed that the dog had severe narrowing of the tricuspid valve, likely caused by the pacemaker lead becoming stuck to the heart tissue. Unfortunately, the lead could not be repositioned, and a postmortem exam revealed that the valve leaflets had fused around the lead. This case highlights the risk of leaving too much pacemaker lead inside a dog's heart, which can lead to serious heart problems.
People also search for: dog heart failure symptoms · Border terrier pacemaker complications · tricuspid valve stenosis in dogs
Abstract
Acquired tricuspid valve stenosis (TVS) is a rare complication of endocardial lead placement in humans that has not been described in the veterinary literature. We describe a 6.5-year-old Border terrier that was presented with right-sided congestive heart failure 5.5 years after placement of a transvenous pacemaker. Severe TVS was confirmed by cardiac ultrasonography and appeared to be secondary to excessive endocardial pacemaker lead within the right atrium. Repositioning of the lead proved impossible and subsequent postmortem examination demonstrated fusion of the tricuspid valve (TV) leaflets around the endocardial lead with associated narrowing of the tricuspid valve orifice. In addition, the loop of the endocardial lead was anchored by thick fibrous tissue to the right atrial wall. This case report suggests that if sufficient endocardial lead is left inside the heart, in dogs undergoing transvenous pacemaker therapy, the redundant lead can become adherent to the tricuspid valve apparatus and cause valvular stenosis.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18229427/