Thin and hypokinetic myocardial segments in cats with cardiomyopathy

Matos, JN; Sargent, J; Silva, J; Payne, JR; Seo, J; Spalla, I; Borgeat, K; Loureiro, J; Pereira, N; Simcock, IC; Hutchinson, JC; Arthurs, OJ; Fuentes, VL

Abstract

Introduction/objectives: Thin and hypokinetic myocardial segments (THyMS) represent adverse ventricular (LV) remodeling in human hypertrophic car-diomyopathy. We describe the echocardiographic features and outcome in cats with THyMS, and in a subpopulation, the echocardiographic phenotype before LV wall thinning was detected (pre-THyMS). Animals: Eighty client-owned cats. Materials and methods: Retrospective multicenter study. Clinical records were searched for cats with THyMS, defined as LV segment(s) with end-diastolic wall thickness (LVWT) <3 mm and hypokinesis in the presence of >one LV segment(s) with LVWT >4 mm and normal wall motion. When available, echocardiograms pre-THyMS were assessed. Survival time was defined as time from first presentation with THyMS to death. Results: Mean thickest LV wall segment (MaxLVWT) was 6.1 mm (95% CI 5.8-6.4 mm) and thinnest (MinLVWT) was 1.7 mm (95% CI 1.6-1.9 mm). The LV free wall was affected in 74%, apex in 13% and septum in 5%. Most cats (85%) presented with heart failure and/or arterial thromboembolism. Median circulating troponin I concentration was 1.4 ng/mL ([range 0.07-180 ng/mL]). Prior echocardiography re-sults were available for 13/80 cats, a mean of 2.5 years pre-THyMS. In segments subsequently undergoing thinning, initial MaxLVWT measured 6.7 mm (95% CI 5.8-7.7 mm) vs. 1.9 mm (95% CI 1.5-2.4 mm) at last echocardiogram (P<0.0001). Survival data were available for 56/80 cats, median survival time after diagnosing THyMS was 153 days (95% CI 83-223 days). Cardiac histopathology in one cat revealed that THyMS was associated with severe transmural scarring. Conclusions: Cats with THyMS had advanced cardiomyopathy and a poor prognosis. 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Citation

Matos, J., Sargent, J., Silva, J., Payne, J., Seo, J., Spalla, I., …Fuentes, V. (2023). Thin and hypokinetic myocardial segments in cats with cardiomyopathy. Journal of Veterinary Cardiology, 46, 5-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvc.2023.02.002

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 8, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Feb 10, 2023
• Publication Date: 2023
• Deposit Date: Feb 6, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 6, 2024
• Print ISSN: 1760-2734
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 46
• Pages: 5-17
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvc.2023.02.002
• Keywords: Infarct; Hypertrophic cardio-myopathy; Fibrosis; Cardiomyopathy of non-specific pheno-type; Micro-CT; HYPERTROPHIC CARDIOMYOPATHY; CLINICAL-SIGNIFICANCE; LEFT-VENTRICLE; PREVALENCE; PROGRESSION; INFARCTION; DIAGNOSIS; PATHOLOGY; SOCIETY; FAMILY