Diagnostic and prognostic value of endothelin-1 plasma concentrations in dogs with heart and respiratory disorders.

The endothelin-1 (ET-1) plasma concentration was measured in dogs with spontaneous cardiac or respiratory diseases. Plasma samples were obtained from 76 healthy control dogs and 73 dogs, of which 58 were suffering from heart disease and 15 were suffering from respiratory disease. Dogs were evaluated using echocardiography, thoracic radiography, biochemical evaluation and a radioimmunoassay for ET-1. ET-1 plasma concentrations were significantly higher in dogs with spontaneous cardiac or respiratory diseases (mean [se] 5.3 [0.3] and 5.3 [0.6] pg/ml, respectively) than in healthy dogs (1.9 [0.1] pg/ml) (P<0.0001). ET-1 plasma concentrations increased with the class of heart failure (International Small Animal Cardiac Health Council classification) (P<0.0001) and with the severity of pulmonary disorders. ET-1 plasma concentrations were positively correlated with the extent of systolic pulmonary hypertension measured by Doppler echocardiography (P<0.05; r=0.75) and with the clinical outcome of dogs with respiratory disease. Evaluation of the ET-1 plasma concentration allowed differentiation between heart and respiratory disorders in dogs exhibiting clinical signs at exercise, but not in patients exhibiting clinical signs at rest.

Spontaneous vegetative endocarditis due to Enterococcus faecalis in a rottweiler puppy.

A 5-month-old female Rottweiler was referred because of a 5-week diarrhea and a sudden onset of a cardiac murmur auscultated by its veterinarian. Definitive diagnosis of bacterial endocarditis was based on ultrasonographic visualization of vegetative cardiac lesions and positive cultures of Enterococcus faecalis in blood and urine. Complicating findings were suppurative nephritis and renal infarction. Despite intensive supportive care, the endocarditis and clinical condition deteriorated and the dog had to be euthanized.

[Exploration of a third degree atrioventricular block by standard echocardiography, tissue Doppler imaging, and treatment with a cardiac pacemaker in a German wire-haired pointer]. / Exploration d'un bloc atrio-ventriculaire du 3ème degré par échocardiographie conventionnelle, Doppler tissulaire, biopsie endomyocardique et traitement par pacemaker chez un Drathaar.

A nine-year-old intact male Drathaar was evaluated for syncope and extreme weakness, and was found to have a third degree atrioventricular (AV) block. As there were no biochemic, serologic, organic (thoracic radiographs, abdominal echography, standard and tissue Doppler echocardiographies) and histologic (interventricular septum biopsy) anomalies, the dog was treated with a permanently implanted cardiac pacemaker.

Persistent truncus arteriosus in a 6-year-old cat.

Truncus arteriosus (TA) was diagnosed in a 6-year-old neutered female domestic short-haired cat by two-dimensional and M-mode echocardiography, colour flow imaging and spectral Doppler examinations. The lesion was characterized by a single large artery originating from the right ventricle. A single ascending aorta and a single pulmonary trunk arose from the common arterial trunk. The residual pulmonary trunk immediately split into left and right branches. The lesion was identified as a type I (TA). This case is of interest because it is the first reported echo-Doppler description of such a malformation in felines, and because of the age of the cat at the time of diagnosis.

Longitudinal left ventricular myocardial dysfunction assessed by 2D colour tissue Doppler imaging in a dog with systemic hypertension and severe arteriosclerosis.

A 12-year-old sexually intact male Vendee Griffon Basset was presented for acute pulmonary oedema. Severe systemic systolic arterial hypertension (SAH) was diagnosed (290 mmHg). Despite blood and abdominal ultrasound tests, the underlying cause of the systemic hypertension could not be determined, and primary SAH was therefore suspected. Conventional echocardiography showed eccentric left ventricular hypertrophy with normal fractional shortening. Despite this apparent normal systolic function, 2D colour tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) identified a marked longitudinal systolic left ventricular myocardial alteration, whereas radial function was still preserved. Three months later, the dog underwent euthanasia because of an acute episode of distal aortic thromboembolism. Necropsy revealed severe aortic and iliac arteriosclerosis. SAH related to arteriosclerosis is a common finding in humans, but has not been previously described in dogs. Moreover, its consequence on longitudinal myocardial function using TDI has never been documented before in this species.