Chronic enalapril treatment of dogs with naturally occurring, moderate to severe MR significantly delayed onset of CHF, compared with placebo, on the basis of number of CHF-free days, number of dogs free of CHF at days 500 and study end, and increased time to a combined secondary endpoint of CHF-all-cause death. Improvement in the primary endpoint, CHF-free survival, was not significant. Results suggest that enalapril modestly delays the onset of CHF in dogs with moderate to severe MR.

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Fifty dogs undergoing splenectomy for splenic masses (n = 40), torsion of the splenic pedicle (n = 5), and immune-mediated disease (n = 5) were evaluated preoperatively and and postoperatively for ventricular arrhythmias and the relationship between ventricular arrhythmia splenic disease. The ability of 1-minute electrocardiograms recorded every 6 hours (ECGs/q6hr) to detect ventricular arrhythmia was compared with continuous 48-hour Holter monitoring. Based on continuous Holter monitoring, splenectomized dogs had a high incidence (22 of 50) of rapid ventricular tachycardia. The incidence of rapid ventricular tachycardia was significantly higher in dogs with ruptured splenic masses (16 of 23) than without rupture (1 of 17) (P < .001). When the results of ECG/q6hr were compared with the results of continuous Holter monitoring ECG/q6hr was normal in 29% (4 of 14) of dogs with rapid ventricular tachycardia at > 3,000 ventricular extrasystoles (VE)/hr; 50% (4 of 8) of dogs with rapid ventricular tachycardia at 1,000 to 3,000 VE/hr and 100% (6 of 6) of dogs with 10 to 300 VE/hr without rapid ventricular tachycardia. Although dogs undergoing splenectomy had a high incidence of ventricular arrhythmias, one-minute ECGs/q6h were unreliable for detection of ventricular arrhythmias even when high-frequency extrasystoles occurred.

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OBJECTIVE To describe the clinical presentation and outcome in dogs diagnosed with Trypanosoma cruzi infection in nonendemic areas and to survey veterinary cardiologists in North America for Chagas disease awareness. ANIMALS 12 client-owned dogs; 83 respondents from a veterinary cardiology listserv. PROCEDURES A retrospective, multicenter medical records review to identify dogs diagnosed with American trypanosomiasis between December 2010 and December 2020. An anonymous online survey was conducted August 9 to 22, 2022. RESULTS Diagnosis was made using indirect fluorescent antibody titer (n = 9), quantitative PCR assay (1), or postmortem histopathology (2). Time spent in Texas was < 1 year (n = 7) or 2 to 8 years (5). Time in nonendemic areas prior to diagnosis was < 1 year (n = 10) and > 3 years (2). Eleven had cardiac abnormalities. Of the 12 dogs, 5 had died unexpectedly (range, 1 to 108 days after diagnosis), 4 were still alive at last follow-up (range, 60 to 369 days after diagnosis), 2 were euthanized because of heart disease (1 and 98 days after diagnosis), and 1 was lost to follow-up. Survey results were obtained from 83 cardiologists in North America, of which the self-reported knowledge about Chagas disease was limited in 49% (41/83) and 69% (57/83) expressed interest in learning resources. CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results highlight the potential for encountering dogs with T cruzi infection in nonendemic areas and need for raising awareness about Chagas disease in North America.

Background There is a lack of clinical data on hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) in dogs. Hypothesis/Objectives To investigate signalment, clinical signs, diagnostic findings, and survival in dogs with HCM. Animals Sixty‐eight client‐owned dogs. Methods Retrospective multicenter study. Medical records were searched between 2003 and 2015. The diagnosis of left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy was made by echocardiographic examination. Results Three hundred and forty‐five dogs with LV hypertrophy were identified, of which 277 were excluded. The remaining 68 dogs were 0.3 to 14 years old and predominantly <10 kg (85%), and without a sex predilection. Twenty‐four % were Shih Tzu and 24% terrier breeds. Most (80%) had a systolic heart murmur. Owner‐determined exercise intolerance (37%) and syncope (18%) were most commonly reported signs. The majority (84%) of dogs had symmetrical LV hypertrophy, whereas asymmetrical septal and LV free wall hypertrophy was observed in 9% and 6% of dogs, respectively. Isolated basal interventricular septal hypertrophy was not observed. Commonly recorded were systolic anterior motion of the mitral valve (60%) and LV diastolic dysfunction (89% of dogs where diastolic function was evaluated). Six dogs died unexpectedly, and 3 developed congestive heart failure. Known survival times were between 1 day and 114 months after diagnosis. Conclusions and Clinical Importance Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in dogs should be considered as a differential diagnosis if LV hypertrophy is identified. Small breed dogs are overrepresented, and it is uncommon for dogs with HCM to develop CHF although sudden death can occur.

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