Ventricular arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death in young Leonbergers

Wiberg, Maria; Niskanen, Julia E.; Hytönen, Marjo K.; Dillard, Kati; Hagner, Karoliina; Anttila, Marjukka; Lohi, Hannes

doi:10.1016/j.jvc.2019.11.006

Cited by 8 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 37 publications

(44 reference statements)

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“…In addition, hypothyroidism was recorded quite frequently in our survey, confirming earlier reports for this breed [56,57]. However, diseases such as arrhythmia leading to sudden cardiac death [58] that has been reported to be more prevalent in Finnish Leonbergers occurred only sporadically in our survey. Besides the orthopaedic disorders, which are known to be polygenic, the second most prevalent disease category that was reported in our survey was neurological disorders, with predominantly different forms of polyneuropathy as reported earlier [59].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Genomic diversity and population structure of the Leonberger dog breed

et al. 2020

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Background Leonberger is a giant dog breed formed in the 1850s in Germany. Its post-World War II popularity has resulted in a current global population of ~ 30,000 dogs. The breed has predispositions to neurodegenerative disorders and cancer, which is likely due in large part to limited genetic diversity. However, to date there is no scientific literature on the overall demography and genomic architecture of this breed. Results We assessed extensive pedigree records, SNP array genotype data, and whole-genome sequences (WGS) on 142,072, 1203 and 39 Leonberger dogs, respectively. Pedigree analyses identified 22 founder animals and revealed an apparent popular sire effect. The average pedigree-based inbreeding coefficient of 0.29 and average kinship of 0.31 show a dramatic loss of genetic diversity. The observed average life span decreased over time from 9.4 years in 1989 to 7.7 years in 2004. A global health survey confirmed a high prevalence of cancer and neurological disorders. Analysis of SNP-based runs of homozygosity (ROH) identified 125,653 ROH with an average length of 5.88 Mb, and confirmed an average inbreeding coefficient of 0.28. Genome-wide filtering of the WGS data revealed 28 non-protein-changing variants that were present in all Leonberger individuals and a list of 22 potentially pathogenic variants for neurological disorders of which 50% occurred only in Leonbergers and 50% occurred rarely in other breeds. Furthermore, one of the two mtDNA haplogroups detected was present in one dog only. Conclusions The increasing size of the Leonberger population has been accompanied by a considerable loss of genetic diversity after the bottleneck that occurred in the 1940s due to the intensive use of popular sires resulting in high levels of inbreeding. This might explain the high prevalence of certain disorders; however, genomic data provide no evidence for fixed coding variants that explain these predispositions. The list of candidate causative variants for polyneuropathy needs to be further evaluated. Preserving the current genetic diversity is possible by increasing the number of individuals for breeding while restricting the number of litters per sire/dam. In addition, outcrossing would help optimize long-term genetic diversity and contribute to the sustainability and health of the population.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Genomic diversity and population structure of the Leonberger dog breed

et al. 2020

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“…A last differential diagnosis for VA and SCD could be a primary congenital arrhythmia or channelopathy. The latter has been described in humans and dogs but not in cats, although their existence is plausible (Moise et al, 1994;Ware et al, 2015;Meurs et al, 2016;Wiberg et al, 2020;Brugada-Terradellas et al, 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electrocardiography-documented sudden cardiac death due to ventricular fibrillation in a young cat without echocardiographic evidence of severe structural heart disease

Hellemans,

Skotarek,

Mampaey

et al. 2023

Vlaams Diergeneeskundig Tijdschrift

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An asymptomatic three-year-old male European Domestic Shorthair cat was referred for an irregular heart auscultation. Apart from localized concentric left ventricular septal hypertrophy, echocardiography was normal. However, ventricular ectopy was observed on electrocardiography (ECG) during echocardiography. The cat died suddenly 55 minutes after the start of the subsequent Holter ECG. Analysis showed sinus rhythm interrupted by 192 single ventricular premature complexes, a ventricular couplet, two incidents of ventricular bigeminy and two runs of ventricular tachycardia (VT). The last run of VT deteriorated into ventricular fibrillation (VF) and ultimately cardiac arrest. Structural heart disease including mild feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or myocarditis, primary arrhythmia (channelopathy) or extra-cardiac disease were maintained as differential diagnosis. Unfortunately, a necropsy was declined leaving no definitive diagnosis available. In this case report, it is shown that VF due to ventricular ectopy is a possible cause of SCD even in asymptomatic cats with only mild echocardiographic signs of structural heart disease.

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“…Lastly, given the concern for sudden death within the Borzoi breed, documentation of both DCM and ventricular arrhythmias within the present study sample represent important areas of interest for future study. Dilated cardiomyopathy and arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy are considered the leading causes of sudden cardiac death in dogs (32), however heritable ventricular arrhythmias leading to sudden death without an obvious underlying structural cause have also been described in a small number of individual dog breeds (33)(34)(35)(36). Both of these possibilities should be explored further in the Borzoi breed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A multicenter, retrospective study of cardiac disease in Borzoi dogs

et al. 2023

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Borzoi are large, relatively uncommon sighthounds anecdotally reported to suffer from sudden death. This multicenter retrospective cohort study aimed to describe the sample of Borzoi presenting to veterinary cardiologists for evaluation, with records searched from 14 centers across a study period of up to 20 years. The study sample was comprised of 152 client-owned Borzoi, with dogs most commonly presenting for pre-breed screening in 87/152 (52%), followed by evaluation of an arrhythmia in 28/152 (18%). Of the 131/152 (86%) dogs that had an echocardiogram performed, 85/131 (65%) were structurally normal, with 40/85 (47%) structurally normal dogs having trace or mild atrioventricular valve regurgitation. Tricuspid valve dysplasia was the most commonly diagnosed congenital cardiac disease (n = 6). Myxomatous mitral valve disease (n = 12) and dilated cardiomyopathy (n = 13) were diagnosed at similar frequencies, though 92% of valve disease cases were mild. Only 48/152 (32%) Borzoi had a diagnostic electrocardiogram (ECG) and/or a Holter monitor for arrhythmia screening. Despite this, ventricular arrhythmias were identified during the entirety of the available cardiac evaluation including diagnostic ECG, contemporaneous ECG monitoring during the echocardiogram, and/or Holter monitor in 25/131 (19%) dogs in which an echocardiographic diagnosis was available. Of these 25 Borzoi, 76% had minimal or no structural cardiac disease identified, and five had a family history of sudden death. A sudden death outcome was reported in 3/55 (5%) Borzoi with long-term outcome data available. In conclusion, Borzoi commonly have trace or mild atrioventricular valve insufficiencies, and may develop ventricular arrhythmias and dilated cardiomyopathy.

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Ventricular arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death in young Leonbergers

Cited by 8 publications

References 37 publications

Genomic diversity and population structure of the Leonberger dog breed

Genomic diversity and population structure of the Leonberger dog breed

Electrocardiography-documented sudden cardiac death due to ventricular fibrillation in a young cat without echocardiographic evidence of severe structural heart disease

A multicenter, retrospective study of cardiac disease in Borzoi dogs

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