Clinical presentation, echocardiographic findings, treatment strategies, and prognosis of dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease presented with pericardial effusion due to suspected left atrial tear: a retrospective case-control study.

Introduction/objectives: Left atrial tear (LAT) is a life-threatening complication in dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD). The study objective was to describe clinical presentation, echocardiographic findings, treatment strategies, and survival in dogs with LAT compared to a control group of dogs with a similar stage of MMVD but no LAT.

Animals And Materials And Methods: Two-center retrospective case-controlled study including 15 dogs with and 15 dogs without LAT was conducted.

Balloon dilation and transient stenting of unilateral membranous choanal atresia in a British Shorthair cat with chronic purulent rhinitis and ascending meningoencephalitis.

Choanal atresia is a rare congenital anomaly in humans and animals, characterized by the absence of communication of one or both nasal cavities with the nasopharynx. The severity of clinical signs depends on the presence of unilateral versus bilateral stenosis as well as comorbidities. With bilateral atresia, respiration may be severely compromised particularly during sleep, as airflow can only occur when breathing through the open mouth.

Comparison of the diagnostic value of a small, single channel, electrocardiogram monitoring patch with a standard 3-lead Holter system over 24 hours in dogs.

Introduction/objectives: The aim of this study was to compare a novel small event recorder device, the Carnation Ambulatory Monitor (CAM), with a standard Holter.

Animals: Nineteen adult dogs.

Material And Methods: Comparative and explorative study.

Manifestations of hypertensive encephalopathy in cats.

Objectives: Hypertensive encephalopathy in cats is an important entity but is underestimated in clinical practice. This could be explained, in part, by non-specific clinical signs. The objective of this study was to characterise the clinical manifestations of hypertensive encephalopathy in cats.

Effects of Breed, Exercise, and a Two-Month Training Period on NT-proBNP-Levels in Athletic Dogs.

N-terminal pro-b-type natriuretic peptide (NTproBNP) is a cardiac biomarker used to detect myocardial wall stress. Physical activity and cardiac disease can affect serum NTproBNP concentrations. In people, different types of physical activity have different effects on NTproBNP.

Retrospective evaluation of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in 68 dogs.

Background: There is a lack of clinical data on hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) in dogs.

Hypothesis/objectives: To investigate signalment, clinical signs, diagnostic findings, and survival in dogs with HCM.

Animals: Sixty-eight client-owned dogs.

Long-term palliation of right-sided congestive heart failure after stenting a recurrent cor triatriatum dexter in a 10½-year-old pug.

A 10½-year-old, male neutered, pug presented with increasing ascites over two months. Echocardiography revealed cor triatriatum dexter with no concurrent cardiovascular anomalies, subsequently confirmed by computed tomography angiography. Balloon dilation of the perforated intra-atrial membrane under fluoroscopic guidance resulted in the transient resolution of all clinical abnormalities, but six months later stenosis and ascites recurred.

Reversible facial nerve paralysis in a cat suspected to be associated with systemic hypertension.

Case Summary: This report describes the appearance of facial nerve paralysis in a 16-year-old hypertensive cat. MRI was helpful in visualising and characterising mesencephalic and facial nerve lesions thought to be induced by hypertension. Neurological signs rapidly resolved under antihypertensive therapy.

Effect of a single dose of pimobendan on right ventricular and right atrial function in 11 healthy cats.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of pimobendan on echocardiographic parameters of right ventricular and atrial function in healthy cats.

Animals: Eleven privately owned, healthy adult cats.

Material And Methods: Each cat underwent five echocardiographic examinations: the first and second examinations were performed 1 h apart on day 0.

Balloon valvuloplasty of valvular pulmonary stenosis in a neonatal foal.

In a 1-day old filly with a loud heart murmur, transthoracic echocardiography revealed right ventricular hypertrophy associated with severe pulmonary valvular stenosis and a transvalvular pressure gradient (between right ventricle and pulmonary artery) of 125 mmHg. Computed tomographic angiography confirmed the finding, with no evidence of other relevant concurrent abnormalities. Balloon valvuloplasty was performed using a single balloon technique.

Echocardiographic assessment of right ventricular systolic function in healthy Beagle dogs compared to high field cardiac magnetic resonance imaging.

Ten healthy Beagle dogs were used to compare selected echocardiographic parameters of right ventricular (RV) systolic function with high field cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). All dogs underwent complete transthoracic echocardiography before and during anesthesia, as well as cardiac MRI with determination of morphology-based ejection fraction, and phase contrast angiography-derived stroke volume. A correlation analysis was carried out between echocardiographic and MRI parameters.

Effects of pimobendan in cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and recent congestive heart failure: Results of a prospective, double-blind, randomized, nonpivotal, exploratory field study.

Background: The benefits of pimobendan in the treatment of congestive heart failure (CHF) in cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) have not been evaluated prospectively.

Hypothesis/objectives: To investigate the effects of pimobendan in cats with HCM and recent CHF and to identify possible endpoints for a pivotal study. We hypothesized that pimobendan would be well-tolerated and associated with improved outcome.

Reliability of detecting fundus abnormalities associated with systemic hypertension in cats assessed by veterinarians with and without ophthalmology specialty training.

Objectives: Systemic hypertension (SHT) causes severe target organ damage (TOD) and blood pressure (BP) measurement should be routine in at-risk populations. Fundoscopy is a tool to corroborate acute clinical relevance of high BP results and to decide on immediate therapy. Not every cat with a high BP result can be examined by an ophthalmologist.

Endocardial fibroelastosis in a dog with congestive heart failure.

In a 6-month-old, intact female, Japanese spitz presenting with severe dyspnea, lung ultrasonography revealed confluent B lines associated with severe echocardiographic left sided volume overload and systolic dysfunction. A congenital shunt or valvular dysplasia was not demonstrable. On electrocardiogram, there was a constant sinus rhythm, respectively sinus tachycardia.

Closure of an unusual morphology patent ductus arteriosus with a covered stent in a dog.

Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) with unusual morphology was diagnosed in a 3-year-old German shepherd presented for exercise intolerance. Two interventional PDA closure procedures with various Amplatzer devices and one surgical ligation were attempted to close the PDA. However, PDA closure failed with both methods due to the unusual morphology and the severe enlarged ductus ampulla.

Recommendations for standardized plane definition in canine cardiac MRI.

With the growing interest in cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI), veterinary radiologists will increasingly be asked to use this modality to answer complex cardiological questions. Plane alignment is crucial for reproducible assessment of the heart. Anesthesia time is a limiting factor in cMRI.

Efficacy of adding ramipril (VAsotop) to the combination of furosemide (Lasix) and pimobendan (VEtmedin) in dogs with mitral valve degeneration: The VALVE trial.

Background: Triple therapy (TT) consisting of furosemide, pimobendan, and an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) frequently is recommended for the treatment of congestive heart failure (CHF) attributable to myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD). However, the effect of adding an ACEI to the combination of pimobendan and furosemide (dual therapy [DT]) so far has not been evaluated prospectively.

Hypothesis: Triple therapy will extend survival time compared to DT in dogs with CHF secondary to MMVD.

[Diagnostic utility of creatine kinase elevation in the routine biochemical profile in cats].

Creatine kinase (CK) is a muscle enzyme that is very sensitive to muscle damage. Therefore, serum CK is measured particularly to confirm suspected myopathy. Since 2013, this enzyme has been included in the routine chemistry profile in our hospital.

Case report - azygos vein drainage into the left atrium in a dog with cor triatriatum dexter and a patent foramen ovale.

A 2-year-old Airedale terrier was presented with exercise intolerance since birth and newly developed chylous pleural effusion. Imaging procedures including echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, and selective angiography revealed an aberrant connection of the azygos vein and the left atrium, a membrane in the right atrium consistent with cor triatriatum dexter, and a patent foramen ovale with right-to-left shunt. Balloon dilation of the membrane in the right atrium seemed to result in transient improvement of exercise tolerance compared with the previous 2 years.

[Extraction invasive minimale de Dirofilaria immitis chez un chien souffrant d'un syndrome cave supérieur].

Caval syndrome due to infection with Dirofilaria (D.) immitis is a life-threatening situation, needing immediate therapeutic intervention. Severe pulmonary hypertension due to dirofilariosis was diagnosed echocardiographically in a 3.

Variability among strain variables derived from two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography in dogs by use of various software.

Objective: To determine variability of global longitudinal strain (GLS) and strain rate (SR) measurements in dogs with and without cardiac disease derived from 2-D speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) by use of various software.

Animals: 2 cohorts comprising 44 dogs (23 cardiovascularly healthy and 21 with cardiac disease) and 40 dogs (18 cardiovascularly healthy and 22 with cardiac disease).

Procedures: Transthoracic echocardiographic images in each cohort were analyzed with vendor-independent software and vendor-specific 2-D STE software for each of 2 vendors.

Holter monitoring demonstrates that ventricular arrhythmias are common in cats with decompensated and compensated hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Arrhythmias can complicate cardiac disease in cats and are a potential cause of sudden death. The aim of this study was to evaluate the presence and nature of cardiac arrhythmias, and the potential correlation between plasma serum troponin I (cTnI) concentrations and the presence or severity of arrhythmias in cats with decompensated (dHCM) and compensated hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (cHCM). Forty one client-owned cats were studied: 16 with cHCM, 15 with dHCM and 10 healthy control cats.

Efficacy of long-term oral telmisartan treatment in cats with hypertension: Results of a prospective European clinical trial.

Background: Efficacy of telmisartan in treating hypertension (HT) in cats has not been largely investigated.

Objective: Telmisartan oral solution effectively controls systolic arterial blood pressure (SABP) in hypertensive cats.

Animals: Two-hundred eighty-five client-owned cats with systemic HT.