P wave dispersion in obese dogs with and without mitral valve disease

Abstract

Pwave dispersion (Pd) is an electrocardiographic index defined as the difference between the minimum and maximum Pwave duration in multiple leads. The augmentation of Pd reflects the discontinuous and inhomogeneous atrial depolarization resulting from cardiac and non-cardiac conditions. In humans, an increased Pd is associated with the development of cardiac arrhythmias, particularly atrial fibrillation. To investigate Pd in obese dogs, we enrolled 76 dogs, which were classified in four distinct categories according to body condition and the existance of valve insufficiency: obese dogs (O), dogs with both obesity and cardiac disease (O+CD), lean dogs with cardiac disease (CD) and healthy controls (H). To be included in the study, all dogs underwent an electrocardiographic and echocardiographic assessment. We reported significantly higher Pd in the animals included in categories O, O+CD and CD (18.0±7.6ms, 16.1±4.4ms, 12.1±4.3ms, respectively) as compared to the healthy subjects (7.3±2.2ms). Also, significant correlations between Pd and both the body mass index and body fat percentage were documented for the obese dogs. However, no association between Pd and LA/Ao could be identified in patients belonging to the O, O+CD and H categories. Thus, we have demonstrated that obese dogs, regardless of their valvular competency status, present high Pd values, suggesting an impaired propagation of atrial electrical impulse.

Assessment of P Wave Indices in Healthy Standardbred Horses

“…The associations with sex and bodyweight in human patients have been suggested to be related to atrial size since increased bodyweight is one of the most important determinants of atrial size [ 72 ] and males tend to be heavier than females. In dogs, increased Pd has also been associated with greater bodyweight but not sex differences [ 42 ]. We found no significant association between age, sex or bodyweight and P wave duration or dispersion in this study.…”

“…Few studies have reported the use of P wave indices in veterinary medicine [ 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ]. In dogs, Pd has been shown to be significantly increased in those with chronic valvular disease and disturbances of supraventricular conduction [ 38 , 42 ] and was also found to be a useful predictor of arrhythmia recurrence following electrical cardioversion of AF [ 39 ]. In horses, only one study has been performed to determine the values of Pd in healthy Silesian and Polish primitive horses [ 40 ].…”

P-wave dispersion and renal biomarkers in canine visceral leishmaniasis stage III and IV infected dogs

“…However, the related clinical the risk of, e.g., supraventricular arrhythmias in dogs (Noszczyk-Nowak et al 2008). This indicator is used to evaluate atrial arrhythmias and atrial fibrillation in human medicine (Dilaveris and Gialafos 2001); it is a novel tool in veterinary medicine to follow a chronic valvular disease (Noszczyk-Nowak et al 2011), in obese dogs with and without mitral valve disease (Dittrich et al 2018), and atrial fibrillation (Noszczyk-Nowak 2012). To our knowledge, only one study including P d alteration associated with CVL has been reported with increasing P d values in polysymptomatic dogs (Nakipoglu and Ural 2018).…”