Cardiac diseases in dogs

Abstract

Heart diseases are almost as common in dogs as in human subject. The clinical signs of heart disease depend on the type of disease and severity, but initially it is asymptomatic in most cases. Auscultation, electrocardiography, echocardiography and some biochemical tests are most useful diagnostic procedures employed in recognizing the cardiac diseases in dogs. Presently access to echocardiographic facility in veterinary practice has brought about a revolution in the early and precise diagnosis and management of cardiac diseases in dogs. Some congenital cardiac defects can be repaired or corrected with surgery, while other conditions can be managed with medical therapy using one or a combination of drugs. Quality of life and life expectancy can be improved with early diagnosis and treatment in congestive heart failure cases. Even though most forms cannot be prevented, heart disease caused by heartworms can easily be avoided with preventative medical therapy. With the advent of modern diagnostic modalities and increased awareness among pet owners, cardiac diseases in dogs are being attended in clinical practice.

Study on Incidence of Canine Cardiac Disorders in Jabalpur City

“…Haritha et al (2017) reported highest prevalence (50.44%) in dogs between 5-10 years. Similar findings were reported by Montoya (2002), Jeyaraja et al (2008 and Hoque et al (2019), supporting the findings of this study. This might be due to many factors such as poor diet; lack of exercise and overweight represented the disease up to middle age as observed in the present study; the disease is not always due to senile changes.…”

“…There was no breed predilection noticed, however more cases were observed in Labrador (33.33%) followed by Mongrel (25.00%), German Shepherd (13.33%) and Pomeranian (06.67 %) (Table 5). Similar findings have also been reported by Hoque et al (2019), Badsar et al (2018) and Reetu et al (2017) as these authors also reported highest prevalence rate in Labradors. Labrador were affected mostly might be due to genetic predisposition of breed to the cardiac affection however no such examination was performed in the present study.…”

A study on the electrocardiography in dogs: Reference values and their comparison among breeds, sex, and age groups

“…presented in Table-1. In this investigation, measurements of waves and complexes were made from lead-II as it is directed toward the electrode of lead II and considered as waves of typical depolarization vector [9,10]. We did not get any significant variation (p>0.05) between breeds, age, and sex in the amplitude of P wave, the first positive wave denoting atrial depolarization in lead-I, II, III, and aVF though significant variations (p<0.05) found in P wave duration between different breeds and different age groups.…”

“…Gugjoo et al [8] reported reference values of six limb lead ECG in 24 healthy conscious Labrador Retriever dogs. We, while, investigating the ECG pattern of three exotic breeds of trained dogs [9], encountered difficulties due to lack of appropriate reference values based on a large number of dog populations in respect to breed, sex, age, and other physiological states for accurate interpretation and appropriate therapeutic interventions [10].…”

Clinicopathological findings in dogs with cardiac diseases

“…Cardiac diseases in canines are extensively studied but meagre information has been reported all over the world and also in India [1] . Recognition of canine cardiac diseases has been delayed and ignored on account of lack of awareness and knowledge by the owner and inadequate diagnostic facility in our country [2] .…”