Echocardiographic values and prevalence of cardiac abnormalities in clinically healthy adult Borzoi dogs

Am J Vet Res. 2024 Jan 2:1-10. doi: 10.2460/ajvr.23.11.0255. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTOBJECTIVE: To develop breed-specific echocardiographic values for normal Borzoi and to report the prevalence of structural cardiac abnormalities.ANIMALS: 146 clinically healthy, adult Borzoi dogs.METHODS: Cardiac auscultation and standard echocardiograms were performed. Longitudinal follow-up was described in a subset of dogs (n = 25).RESULTS: Most Borzoi were structurally normal (119/146, 81.5%), with breed-specific echocardiographic values generated independently for each sex, as females weighed significantly less than males (30.4 ± 3.8 kg vs 38.3 ± 4.1 kg, respectively; P < .001), and a significant impact of sex was found on most measurements. Physiologic heart murmurs were identified in 64/119 (53.8%) normal dogs. Thirty-six (30.2%) structurally normal dogs had trace or mild mitral regurgitation, and 43 (36.1%) had trace or mild tricuspid regurgitation. Structural cardiac disease was identified in 21 dogs (14.4%), including 9 dogs (6.2%) with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), 9 dogs (6.2%) with stage B1 myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD), and 3 (2.1%) dogs with congenital abnormalities. Seven dogs (4.8%) had equivocal abnormalities. During follow-up, new dogs were diagnosed with occult DCM (n = 3), equivocal DCM (1), and stage B1 MMVD (2). Two dogs originally diagnosed with DCM (1 occult and 1 equivocal) normalized after diet change.CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Borzoi dogs commonly have...
Source: American Journal of Veterinary Research - Category: Veterinary Research Authors: Source Type: research