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Hypercoagulability in cats with cardiomyopathy

T Stokol1, M Brooks, J E Rush

  • 1Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA. ts23@cornell.edu

Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine
|May 10, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Systemic hypercoagulability is a risk factor for arterial thromboembolism (ATE) in cats with cardiomyopathy. This hypercoagulability, indicated by coagulation abnormalities, occurs even without congestive heart failure or overt ATE.

Area of Science:

  • Veterinary Cardiology
  • Feline Medicine
  • Thrombosis Research

Background:

  • Arterial thromboembolism (ATE) is a frequent complication of feline cardiomyopathy, but its underlying causes remain unclear.
  • Understanding the pathogenesis of ATE is crucial for managing affected cats.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of systemic hypercoagulability and endothelial injury in the development of ATE in cardiomyopathic cats.
  • To identify laboratory markers associated with ATE in this population.

Main Methods:

  • Compared healthy cats (n=30) with three groups of cardiomyopathic cats: left atrial enlargement (LAE), LAE with spontaneous echocardiographic contrast/thrombi (SEC-T), and acute ATE with LAE.
  • Assessed hypercoagulability via fibrinogen, Factor VIII, antithrombin, thrombin-antithrombin complex (TAT), and d-dimer levels.
  • Measured von Willebrand factor antigen (vWF:Ag) as a marker of endothelial injury.

Main Results:

  • Cats with cardiac disease showed higher fibrinogen levels than healthy controls.
  • Hypercoagulability was present in 50% of SEC-T cats and 56% of ATE cats.
  • ATE cats exhibited significantly higher vWF:Ag concentrations, suggesting endothelial injury.

Conclusions:

  • Systemic hypercoagulability is common in cardiomyopathic cats, potentially preceding overt ATE or congestive heart failure (CHF).
  • Hypercoagulability is identified as a significant risk factor for ATE in cats.
  • Elevated vWF:Ag in ATE cats is likely due to endothelial damage caused by the thrombus.
Abstract

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