This is the first report of an aortic sinus aneurysm with a communication to the main pulmonary artery, resulting in left‐to‐right shunting, diagnosed in vivo in a dog. There was also a second left‐to‐right shunt through a patent ductus arteriosus. Computed tomography (CT) angiography was used to confirm both congenital anomalies and assess the relative contributions of the two left‐to‐right shunts to left‐sided volume overload.

Myxomatous mitral valve disease is the most commonly acquired heart disease in the dog. Affected dogs have a reduced forward stroke volume as a result of the regurgitant flow back through the compromised mitral valve leaflets. Primary care practitioners will be all too familiar with the challenges of performing a general anaesthetic on these animals and unfortunately, there is no ideal protocol for every case. Having knowledge of the haemodynamic changes that occur with myxomatous mitral valve disease, compared to structurally normal hearts, as well as a good understanding of pharmacological effects of agents used in general anaesthesia, is essential in the safe management of these cases. This article will summarise disease pathophysiology, concurrent cardiac medications and commonly used pre-anaesthetic, induction and maintenance agents available in primary care practice for use in dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease.

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A supraventricular tachycardia was diagnosed in a 3-year-old male Labrador Retriever. Based on patient signalment and characteristic electrocardiographic findings, an accessory pathway bypassing the normal atrioventricular nodal pathway causing an atrioventricular reciprocating tachycardia was a differential diagnosis. However, an alternative diagnosis of a focal atrial tachycardia was another possibility. The dog was successfully treated short-term with intravenous diltiazem, and long-term with modified release oral diltiazem. This report shows the utility of the electrocardiogram in the diagnosis of a supraventricular tachycardia, as well as the medical management for this emergency case.