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Pulsed Doppler assessment of left ventricular diastolic function in normal and cardiomyopathic cats
J M Bright1, M E Herrtage, J F Schneider
1Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA.
Insights
Pulsed Doppler (PD) effectively identifies diastolic dysfunction in cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). This noninvasive method reveals significant differences in flow velocities and relaxation times compared to healthy cats.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Veterinary Medicine
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a common cardiac disease in cats.
- Assessing left ventricular (LV) diastolic function is crucial for understanding HCM progression.
- Noninvasive diagnostic methods are needed for evaluating diastolic impairment in feline HCM.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate left ventricular (LV) diastolic function in cats with primary hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).
- To compare pulsed Doppler (PD) assessment of transmitral flow and isovolumic relaxation time in HCM cats versus healthy controls.
- To determine if PD can noninvasively identify and quantify diastolic impairment in feline HCM.
Main Methods:
- Pulsed Doppler (PD) echocardiography was used to assess transmitral flow and isovolumic relaxation time.
- 16 cats with primary HCM and 12 healthy control cats were included in the study.
- Key Doppler parameters including inflow velocities, deceleration rate, and atrial systolic flow were analyzed.
Main Results:
- HCM cats exhibited significantly reduced early LV inflow velocities and deceleration rates compared to healthy cats.
- A significantly prolonged isovolumic relaxation time was observed in HCM cats.
- HCM cats showed significantly increased atrial systolic flow velocities, indicating impaired diastolic filling.
Conclusions:
- Pulsed Doppler (PD) assessment is a valuable noninvasive tool for evaluating feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).
- PD can accurately identify and quantify diastolic functional impairment in cats with HCM.
- These findings support the use of PD in the clinical management of feline HCM.
Abstract:
Left ventricular (LV) diastolic function was evaluated in 16 cats with primary hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) using pulsed Doppler (PD) assessment of transmitral flow and isovolumic relaxation time. Data obtained was compared to data from 12 healthy, adult, research cats. Compared to normal cats, the HCM group showed significantly (p value less than 0.05) reduced early LV inflow velocities (mean +/- standard error [SE], peak velocity of 0.70+/-0.04 m/s versus 0.54+/-0.04 m/s and integrated velocity of 0.48+/-0.08 m/s versus 0.37+/-0.03 m/s); a reduced rate of deceleration of early inflow (mean+/-SE, -12.0+/-1.0 m/s2 versus -5.1+/-1.1 m/s2); prolonged isovolumic relaxation time (mean +/- SE, 45.7+/-3.3 ms versus 76.0+/-3.1 ms); and increased atrial systolic flow velocities (mean +/- SE, peak velocity of 0.29+/-0.04 m/s versus 0.48+/-0.04 m/s and integrated velocity of 0.21+/-0.03 m/s versus 0.34+/-0.03 m/s). The results suggest that PD provides a noninvasive method of identifying and quantifying functional diastolic impairment in cats with HCM.