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- Author or Editor: Etienne Côté x
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Abstract
Objective—To assess the frequency of heart murmurs in overtly healthy cats.
Design—Prospective study.
Sample Population—103 healthy domestic cats.
Procedure—Background information and physical characteristics were assessed in cats that were candidates for blood donation during an 8-month period. For cats with heart murmurs, additional information collected included murmur timing, grade, point of maximal intensity, and presence of additional heart sounds.
Results—Heart murmurs were detected in 22 of the 103 (21%) cats. Echocardiography was performed in 7 of those 22 cats. The echocardiogram was considered normal in 1 cat; in the other 6 cats, diagnoses included hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (interventricular septal hypertrophic form [IVSH]; n = 4), left ventricular concentric hypertrophy with valvular disease (1), and equivocal IVSH (1). Thirteen cats had more than 1 examination during the study; 3 of them developed heart murmurs. There were no significant differences in age, sex, breed, coat color, eye color, or heart rate between cats with and without murmurs. Among the 103 cats, there were 6 pairs of siblings from 6 multiple- cat households and 16 cats from 7 multiple-cat households in which the cats were not related; the proportion of cats with murmurs was higher in the related cats (5/12) than in the unrelated cats (3/16), but the difference was not significant.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results indicated that heart murmurs are detectable in a large proportion of overtly healthy cats and that many murmurs appear to be caused by structural heart disease that is in a clinically latent state. ( J Am Vet Med Assoc 2004;225:384–388)
Abstract
Objective—To determine signalment, clinical signs, diagnostic findings, treatment, and outcome for cats with atrial fibrillation (AF).
Design—Retrospective study.
Animals—50 cats.
Procedure—Medical records of cats that met criteria for a diagnosis of AF (ECG consisting of at least 2 leads, clear absence of P waves, supraventricular rhythm, and convincingly irregularly irregular rhythm) and had undergone echocardiography were reviewed.
Results—There were 41 males (37 castrated) and 9 females (7 spayed). Forty-one were of mixed breeding; 9 were purebred. Mean ± SD age was 10.2 ± 3.7 years. The most common chief complaints were dyspnea, aortic thromboembolism, and lethargy. In 11 cats, AF was an incidental finding. Mean ± SD ventricular rate was 223 ± 36 beats/min. The most common echocardiographic abnormalities were restrictive or unclassified cardiomyopathy (n = 19), concentric left ventricular hypertrophy (18), and dilated cardiomyopathy (6). Mean ± SD left atrial-to-aortic diameter ratio (n = 39) was 2.55 ± 0.80. The most common thoracic radiographic findings were cardiomegaly, pleural effusion, and pulmonary edema. Median survival time (n = 24) was 165 days (range, 0 to 1,095 days). Eight of 24 cats lived for ≥ 1 year after a diagnosis of AF was made.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results suggest that AF occurs primarily in older adult male cats with structural heart disease severe enough to lead to atrial enlargement. Atrial fibrillation in these cats was most commonly first detected when signs of decompensated cardiac disease were evident, but also was commonly identified as an incidental finding. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2004;225:256–260)
Abstract
Objective—To evaluate the usefulness of Doppler-derived peak flow velocity through the left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT Vmax) and effective orifice area indexed to body surface area (EOAi) in puppies to predict development of subaortic stenosis (SAS) in the same dogs as adults.
Design—Prospective, longitudinal, observational study.
Animals—38 Golden Retrievers.
Procedures—Cardiac auscultation and echocardiography were performed on 2- to 6-month-old puppies, then repeated at 12 to 18 months. Subaortic stenosis was diagnosed when LVOT Vmax was ≥ 2.3 m/s in adult dogs with left basilar systolic murmurs.
Results—All puppies with EOAi < 1.46 cm2/m2 had SAS as adults. All adults with EOAi < 1.29 cm2/m2 had SAS. An LVOT Vmax > 2.3 m/s in puppyhood was 63% sensitive and 100% specific for SAS in adulthood. In puppies, LVOT Vmax was more strongly associated with a future diagnosis of SAS (area under the curve [AUC], 0.89) than was EOAi (AUC, 0.80). In puppies, the combination of LVOT Vmax and EOAi yielded slightly higher sensitivity (69%) and specificity (100%) for adult SAS than did LVOT Vmax alone. In unaffected and affected dogs, LVOT Vmax increased significantly from puppyhood to adulthood but EOAi did not.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—In Golden Retriever puppies, LVOT Vmax > 2.3 m/s and EOAi < 1.46 cm2/m2 were both associated with a diagnosis of SAS at adulthood. The combination of these 2 criteria may result in higher sensitivity for SAS screening. Unlike LVOT Vmax, EOAi did not change during growth in either unaffected Golden Retrievers or those with SAS.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To better understand spatial relationships between principal bronchi and other intrathoracic structures by use of CT images of dogs of various somatotypes.
ANIMALS
93 dogs that underwent thoracic CT.
PROCEDURES
Information was collected from medical records regarding signalment and physical examination and echocardiographic findings. Two investigators recorded multiple measurements on a thoracic axial CT image from each dog.
RESULTS
Thoracic height-to-width ratio (H:W) was associated with left principal bronchus (LPB) and right principal bronchus (RPB) H:W, aortic-LPB separation, focal LPB narrowing, and aortic-vertebral overlap. Thoracic H:W was not associated with dog age, weight, sex, or brachycephalic breed. Twenty-five (27%) dogs had focal LPB narrowing, compared with 5 (5%) dogs with focal RPB narrowing (P < 0.001). Ten of 25 dogs had overlap or contact between vertebrae, aorta, LPB, and heart, suggesting a cumulative compressive effect on the LPB, while 15 had LPB-aorta contact and lack of contact between the aorta and thoracic vertebrae, suggesting an aortic constrictive effect on the LPB. None had LPB narrowing without contact from surrounding structures. Inter-rater agreement was high.
CLINICAL RELEVANCE
In dogs that underwent CT and were not selected for clinical suspicion of bronchial disease, principal bronchial morphology was associated with thoracic conformation. Focal LPB narrowing occurred more often than RPB narrowing. Focal LPB narrowing occurred with evidence of extraluminal compression, with or without contact between aorta and vertebrae. Brachycephalic breed could not be used for predicting thoracic H:W.