ECHOCARDIOGRAPHIC ASSESSMENT OF CANINE DEGENERATIVE VALVULAR DISEASE

摘要

Mitral regurgitation (MR) in dogs is most often caused by chronic degenerative valvular disease (CVD). This lesion, also called valvular endocardiosis and myxomatous valvular disease, develops slowly and increases in severity over a period of years. Progressive MR induces cardiac remodeling, characterized by left atrial (LA) and left ventricular (LV) dilatation, eccentric myocardial hypertrophy, and alteration of the intercellular matrix. Neurohormonal activation and the narrowing of small (intramural) coronary arteries may play roles in the pathogenesis of LV remodeling. Despite preservation of global LV shortening, LV dysfunction can eventually develop in CVD, along with increases in LA, pulmonary venous, and pulmonary arterial pressures. By thisstage, many dogs are symptomatic for heart failure. Echocardiography (Echo) can identify and track many of these developments noninvasively4 and offers useful information about the heart and hemodynamic changes that accompany chronic MR. This brief review focuses on echocardiographic assessment of dogs with CVD.