Echocardiographic parameters and indices in the normal beagle dog

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Cardiology
• Canine Physiology
• Echocardiography

Background:

• Echocardiography is crucial for assessing cardiac function in animals.
• Understanding normal cardiac parameters in healthy dogs is essential for disease diagnosis.
• Beagles are a common breed, making them a relevant model for canine cardiovascular studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish normal echocardiographic values in healthy Beagles.
• To investigate potential sex-based differences in cardiac morphology and function.
• To determine the correlation between body weight and cardiac parameters in this breed.

Main Methods:

• M-mode and 2D echocardiography were performed on 50 conscious, standing Beagles (25 males, 25 females).
• Measurements included left ventricular posterior wall thickness, intraventricular septum thickness, left ventricular internal dimension, and circumference.
• Fractional shortening and ejection fraction were calculated; statistical analysis compared sexes and correlated with body weight.

Main Results:

• Statistically significant sex differences were found only in systolic and diastolic left ventricular posterior wall thickness.
• Body weight showed a linear correlation only with systolic and diastolic left ventricular internal dimension.
• Most cardiac parameters demonstrated homogeneity across varying body sizes in this cohort.

Conclusions:

• Cardiac morphofunctional homogeneity in Beagles is independent of body size and age (approx. 7 months).
• Minor sex-specific variations exist, primarily in ventricular wall thickness.
• These findings provide a baseline for normal canine cardiac function and morphology in Beagles.