Ventricular pre-excitation in cats: 17 cases

M Sidler; G Santarelli; A Kovacevic; J Novo Matos; N Schreiber; M Baron Toaldo

doi:10.1016/j.jvc.2023.04.005

Ventricular pre-excitation in cats: 17 cases

J Vet Cardiol. 2023 Jun:47:70-82. doi: 10.1016/j.jvc.2023.04.005. Epub 2023 Apr 27.

Authors

M Sidler¹, G Santarelli², A Kovacevic³, J Novo Matos⁴, N Schreiber¹, M Baron Toaldo⁵

Affiliations

¹ Division of Cardiology, Clinic for Small Animal Medicine, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
² Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Utrecht, the Netherlands.
³ Division of Small Animal Cardiology, Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Switzerland.
⁴ Queen's Veterinary School Hospital, Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, UK.
⁵ Division of Cardiology, Clinic for Small Animal Medicine, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Switzerland. Electronic address: marco.barontoaldo@uzh.ch.

PMID: 37267820
DOI: 10.1016/j.jvc.2023.04.005

Abstract

Objectives: Atrioventricular accessory pathways are abnormal electrical connections between the atria and ventricles that predispose to ventricular pre-excitation (VPE) and tachycardias.

Animals: Seventeen cats with VPE and 15 healthy matched-control cats.

Material and methods: Multicenter case-control retrospective study. Clinical records were searched for cats with VPE, defined as preserved atrioventricular synchrony, reduced PQ interval, and increased QRS complex duration with a delta wave. Clinical, electrocardiography, echocardiographic, and outcome data were collated.

Results: Most cats with VPE were male (16/17 cats), non-pedigree cats (11/17 cats). Median age and mean body weight were 5.4 years (0.3-11.9 years) and 4.6 ± 0.8 kg, respectively. Clinical signs at presentation included lethargy (10/17 cats), tachypnea (6/17 cats), and/or syncope (3/17 cats). In two cats, VPE was an incidental finding. Congestive heart failure was uncommon (3/17 cats). Nine (9/17) cats had tachyarrhythmias: 7/9 cats had narrow QRS complex tachycardia and 2/9 cats had wide QRS complex tachycardia. Four cats had ventricular arrhythmias. Cats with VPE had larger left (P < 0.001) and right (P < 0.001) atria and thicker interventricular septum (P = 0.019) and left ventricular free wall (P = 0.028) than controls. Three cats had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Treatment included different combinations of sotalol (5/17 cats), diltiazem (5/17 cats), atenolol (4/17 cats), furosemide (4/17 cats), and platelet inhibitors (4/17 cats). Five cats died, all from cardiac death (median survival time 1882 days [2-1882 days]).

Conclusions: Cats with VPE had a relatively long survival, albeit showing larger atria and thicker left ventricular walls than healthy cats.

Keywords: Accessory pathway; Arrhythmia; Bypass-mediated tachycardia; Feline; Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.

Publication types

Multicenter Study

MeSH terms

Animals
Cat Diseases* / diagnostic imaging
Cats
Electrocardiography / veterinary
Female
Male
Pre-Excitation Syndromes* / diagnosis
Pre-Excitation Syndromes* / veterinary
Retrospective Studies
Tachycardia / veterinary
Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome* / veterinary