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Cardiology

❤️ Heart disease in dogs and cats​

Heart disease is frequently observed in dogs and cats. Initially, most animals will not present with any symptoms. Your veterinarian may, however, note the presence of an anomaly during an examination. Symptoms may appear subsequently:

  • Respiratory difficulties, swelling in the abdomen;
  • Increasing fatigue;
  • Episodes of loss of consciousness.

In order to explore these symptoms, we can carry out different examinations.

These illnesses may have been present since the animal was born or appear over the course of its life. Heart disease may be present from a young age (congenital malformation) or may come with age.

❔ How are cardiology treatments administered?​

Cardiological treatments are usually “for life” and require a great deal of cooperation from the owner.

Treatment of heart disease is usually medical. Sometimes, monitoring is all that is required. Some malformations can be surgically treated, such as pulmonary valve stenosis and persistent ductus arteriosus. Sometimes it is necessary to fit a pacemaker.

Cardiological treatments may sometimes be administered once or twice a day for the duration of the animal’s lifespan and must be adapted according to the development of the illness. Good cooperation between the owners, the veterinarian treating the animal and the specialist veterinarian is therefore necessary.

Echocardiography in dogs and cats

 

What is echocardiography?​

 

Echocardiographical examinations in dogs and cats allow most heart diseases to be diagnosed. This examination measures the size of the walls and the chambers of the heart and the speed and direction of the flow of blood within the heart

 

Under which circumstances do we use this examination?​

 

Cardiac malformations are numerous and varied and only a Doppler ultrasound will allow the defect to be identified once the veterinarian has detected a heart murmur in a puppy, and to establish a prognosis and suggest a treatment. Acquired cardiac diseases affect the cardiac muscles, the valves, the pericardium or the cardiac electrical system. Some breeds have a predisposition to each of these illnesses. Smaller breed dogs therefore present most frequently with valvular diseases (at an early age in King Charles spaniels); large dogs present with dilated cardiomyopathies; boxers, Newfoundlands and Golden Retrievers present with aortic stenosis, short-nosed breeds present with pulmonary stenosis...

 

What happens during the examination?

 

This pain-free and risk-free examination is carried out with your cooperation in order to reassure your animal, who will remain standing or who will be laid on a table with windows during the examination.

Holter

 

Named after its inventor, Norman Holter, this is a piece of equipment which allows a continuous recording to be made of the electrical activity of the heart, for 24 hours as a minimum. It is used if the veterinarian observes an anomaly in the cardiac rhythm or in order to evaluate the effectiveness of a treatment that is already in place.

 

The apparatus consists of several electrodes affixed to the animal’s chest and linked to a box. Once the animal has returned to the clinic, the veterinarian will remove the equipment and will analyse the problems with the cardiac rhythm. Tachycardia if the beats are too rapid, bradycardia if they are too slow...

 

This examination, which is totally painless for the animal, has the advantage of the animal not needing to remain hospitalised during recording.

Screening

Why carry out screening?​

Some breeds of dogs are more predisposed to cardiac problems than others. Many breed clubs advocate echocardiography to detect early signs of anomalies in order to eradicate certain pathologies. This is because many of them seem to be hereditary, i.e. can be transmitted from one generation to another.

Screening is carried out by means of a Doppler ultrasound as part of an examination. This examination allows a heart murmur or any arrhythmia to be detected. The Doppler ultrasound is used to assess blood flow. It remains the most-frequently used examination for the purposes of investigating aortic stenosis.

For some breeds, screening is mandatory in order to attribute a quality level to a breeder.

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