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Animal models of primary myocardial diseases
Insights
Feline and canine cardiomyopathies are categorized into hypertrophic, congestive, and restrictive types. These primary myocardial diseases in cats and dogs share similarities with human cardiomyopathies.
Area of Science:
- Veterinary Cardiology
- Comparative Pathology
Background:
- Cardiomyopathies, or primary myocardial diseases, affect both cats and dogs.
- Understanding these conditions is crucial for accurate diagnosis and treatment in veterinary medicine.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review and classify feline and canine cardiomyopathies.
- To compare the clinical and pathological findings of these diseases with human cardiomyopathies.
Main Methods:
- Classification based on clinical, hemodynamic, angiocardiographic, and pathological findings.
- Review of existing literature and case studies on feline and canine cardiomyopathies.
- Comparative analysis with human cardiomyopathy classifications.
Main Results:
- Three main groups identified: hypertrophic, congestive (dilated), and restrictive cardiomyopathy.
- Common signs include dyspnea, thromboembolism, murmurs, cardiomegaly, and abnormal ECGs.
- Pathological findings reveal chamber dilation, hypertrophy, fibrosis, and muscle cell disorganization, with aortic thromboembolism noted in cats.
Conclusions:
- Feline and canine cardiomyopathies exhibit distinct clinical and pathological features.
- These animal cardiomyopathies closely resemble the three primary forms found in humans: hypertrophic, congestive, and restrictive.
Abstract:
Feline and canine cardiomyopathies (primary myocardial diseases) were reviewed and divided into three groups based on the clinical, hemodynamic, angiocardiographic, and pathologic findings: (1) feline and canine hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, (2) feline and canine congestive (dilated) cardiomyopathy, and (3) feline restrictive cardiomyopathy. All three groups consisted predominantly of mature adult male cats and dogs. Cardiomyopathy in the hamster and turkey was also reviewed. The most common presenting signs were dyspnea and/or thromboembolism in the cat, systolic murmurs with gallop rhythms on auscultation, cardiomegaly with (groups 1 and 3) or without (group 2) pulmonary edema, abnormal electrocardiograms, elevated left ventricular end-diastolic pressures, and angiocardiographic evidence of mitral regurgitation with left ventricular concentric hypertrophy (group 1), left ventricular dilatation (group 2), or midventricular stenosis (group 3). Some cats in groups 1 and 3 also had evidence of left ventricular outflow obstruction. The principal pathologic findings in all of the cats and dogs were left atrial dilation, hypertrophy, increased septal:left ventricular free wall thickness ratio with disorganization of cardiac muscle cells (group 1); dilatation of the four chambers with degeneration of cardiac muscle cells (group 2); and extensive endocardial fibrosis and adhesion of the left ventricle (group 3). Aortic thromboembolism was commonly observed in the cats of all three groups. These clinical and pathologic findings indicate that cardiomyopathy in the cat or dog is similar to the three forms of cardiomyopathy in humans (hypertrophic, congestive, and restrictive).