Interventricular inflow time difference assessed by dual pulsed-wave Doppler echocardiography in dogs with myxomatous...

Interventricular inflow time difference (IVID), which is defined as the time interval between the opening of the mitral valve and the opening of the tricuspid valve, hold prognostic value in human patients with heart failure. Few reports regarding IVID are available in dogs.

Ninety dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) and 47 dogs without heart disease. Dogs with MMVD received unstandardized therapy based on the stage of disease.

This was a prospective cohort study. Dogs were classified into two groups based on IVID: tricuspid opening preceding mitral opening (TOP) and mitral opening preceding tricuspid opening (MOP). The potential influence of the MOP group at enrollment on the primary outcome (cardiac-related death) was determined by Kaplan-Meier analysis.

Almost all dogs without heart disease (97.9%) were classified in the TOP group. Twenty-nine dogs (32.2%) were classified in the MOP group. Left heart size, transmitral early diastolic inflow velocity, and right ventricular Tei index were significantly greater in the MOP group compared to those in the TOP group. Cardiac-related death were observed in 34 dogs (40.5%). The dogs in the MOP group at initial examination had shorter survival times than those in the TOP group (586 days vs. >1,831 days; 95% confidence interval, 237-714 days vs. 1,037 days to >1,831 days; P<0.001).

Interventricular inflow time difference is potentially useful for prognostic assessments in dogs with MMVD. Further prospective studies that quantify the repeatability and influence of therapy on IVID are needed.