The Cardiovascular System

Radiographic appearance of cardiogenic pulmonary oedema in 23 cats

“…The radiographic appearance of pulmonary oedema in cats with cardiac failure is said to be more variable than in dogs. Various textbooks and review articles include examples of radiographs apparently showing pulmonary oedema appearing as a patchy or localised infiltrate with a variable distribution within the lung (Bonagura 1977, Lord and Zontine 1977, Farrow and others 1994, Kittleson and Kienle 1998, Fox 1999, Lamb 2002, French and Wotton 2004). Also, cats with cardiac failure are prone to developing pleural effusion, which is superimposed on the lung and complicates its radiographic assessment.…”

Associations between ‘valentine’ heart shape, atrial enlargement and cardiomyopathy in cats

“…However, 'valentine' shape has been commonly used in textbooks, and is perpetuated anecdotally as a feature of feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] Objective cardiac measurements, such as the vertebral heart scale of size, aid in the assessment of cardiomegaly. 2 Objective radiographic evaluation of left atrial (LA) enlargement using a modified vertebral heart scale in cats has been described, with a sensitivity of 0.28-0.36, a specificity of 0.95, a positive predictive value (PPV) of 0.88-0.90, and a negative predictive value of 0.5-0.53.…”

“…14 Most texts agree that the 'valentine' shape is caused by LA or a combination of LA and right atrial (RA) enlargement with a shift of the apex toward midline. 5,6,8,9,[14][15][16] However, some debate exists on exactly which atrium is enlarged in the 'valentine'-shaped heart. Some texts suggest that LA enlargement is most likely the cause of most 'valentine'shaped hearts, especially in cats with HCM, 10 while others suggest this shape occurs as a result of biatrial enlargement.…”

“…However, ‘valentine’ shape has been commonly used in textbooks, and is perpetuated anecdotally as a feature of feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). 5–12…”