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Estimation of left ventricular-arterial coupling using echocardiography in cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
A Kittirattanachai1, S D Surachetpong1
1Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
Insights
Ventricular-arterial coupling was lower in cats with early hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (stage B1) compared to healthy cats and those with later stages. This echocardiographic measure may aid in early detection of cardiac dysfunction in feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Veterinary Medicine
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Ventricular-arterial coupling (VAC) reflects cardiovascular performance by assessing the interaction between the ventricle and arterial system.
- Inappropriate VAC is linked to increased disease severity and poorer prognosis.
- VAC has not been previously evaluated in cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore echocardiographically estimated VAC in cats diagnosed with HCM.
- To investigate VAC in different stages of feline HCM.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective study including 36 healthy cats and 69 cats with HCM.
- HCM cats were categorized into stages B1, B2, and C.
- Echocardiographic parameters were utilized to estimate effective arterial elastance (Ea) and left ventricular end-systolic elastance (Ees) for VAC calculation.
Main Results:
- Cats with HCM stage B1 exhibited significantly lower VAC values compared to healthy controls and HCM stage C cats.
- VAC showed a strong negative correlation with fractional shortening (r = -0.808, P < .001).
- VAC demonstrated a fair positive correlation with left ventricular internal diameter (r = 0.496, P < .001).
Conclusions:
- Echocardiographically estimated VAC may serve as a valuable parameter for early detection of cardiac dysfunction in feline HCM.
- Further research is warranted to establish VAC as a routine clinical tool for evaluating cardiac function in cats with HCM.
Objectives:
Ventricular-arterial coupling is the interaction between the ventricle and the arterial system, reflecting overall cardiovascular performance. It is estimated by the ratio of effective arterial elastance (Ea) to left ventricular end-systolic elastance (Ees). Inappropriate ventricular-arterial coupling has been associated with greater disease severity and poorer prognosis. However, no studies have evaluated ventricular-arterial coupling in cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the echocardiographically estimated ventricular-arterial coupling in cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Materials And Methods:
This retrospective study included data from 36 healthy cats and 69 cats diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The hypertrophic cardiomyopathy group was further subdivided into stages B1, B2 and C. Echocardiographic parameters were used to estimate Ea and Ees, for the calculation of ventricular-arterial coupling.
Results:
The results showed that the ventricular-arterial coupling value in cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy stage B1 was significantly lower than that of both the healthy control group and the hypertrophic cardiomyopathy stage C group. Ventricular-arterial coupling had a strong negative correlation with fractional shortening (P < .001, r = -0.808) and a fair positive correlation with left ventricular internal diameter (P < .001, r = 0.496).
Clinical Significance:
With further study, ventricular-arterial coupling estimated by echocardiography has the potential to become a valuable parameter for early detection and evaluation of cardiac function in cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
