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Clinical signs and left atrial size in cats with cardiovascular disease in general practice

S Smith1, J Dukes-McEwan

  • 1Sarah Smith Cardiology, Ivy Court, Willington Rd, Etwall, Derbyshire DE65 6JG.

The Journal of Small Animal Practice
|November 22, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Differentiating feline heart disease from respiratory conditions is crucial. Echocardiographic left atrial diameter measurement may help distinguish heart failure from respiratory disease in general practice.

Area of Science:

  • Veterinary Cardiology
  • Feline Medicine
  • Diagnostic Imaging

Background:

  • Distinguishing heart disease from respiratory disease in cats presents a diagnostic challenge in general practice.
  • Widely available clinical and echocardiographic techniques are needed for accurate feline disease identification.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify population characteristics, clinical signs, and echocardiographic measurements that differentiate cats with heart disease from those with respiratory disease or no disease.
  • To evaluate the utility of simple echocardiographic measurements in a general practice setting.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective recruitment of cats with heart disease (n=103), respiratory disease (n=19), and a normal control group (n=29).
  • All cats underwent clinical examination, echocardiography, and definitive diagnostic procedures.
  • Comparison of murmur, gallop sound, arrhythmia prevalence, and left atrial size across groups.

Main Results:

  • Heart rate was unreliable for diagnosing heart failure.
  • Murmurs were less prevalent in cats with clinical signs of heart failure (Group 3) compared to those without clinical signs (Group 2).
  • Dyspnea, gallop sounds, arrhythmias, and left atrial diameter showed significant differences between groups.

Conclusions:

  • Absence of a murmur does not rule out heart failure in cats; arrhythmias and gallop sounds are more prevalent.
  • Echocardiographic measurement of left atrial diameter greater than 16.5 mm may aid in distinguishing feline heart failure from respiratory disease in general practice.
Abstract

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