Echocardiographic diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy confined to the left ventricular apex in a cat.

Abstract

Case summary: A 4-year-old castrated male Sphynx presented for evaluation of a heart murmur and was diagnosed with subclinical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy characterized by a primarily apical distribution of left ventricular (LV) wall thickening. Over the course of four sequential follow-ups, progressive LV apical hypertrophy and left atrial dilation developed. Despite medical therapy with clopidogrel and pimobendan, the cat developed congestive heart failure and was euthanized 32 months after echocardiographic diagnosis. No post-mortem examination was performed.

Relevance and novel information: Although feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is common and the pattern of distribution of LV hypertrophy is heterogeneous, this is the first case report of apical HCM in cats. Data from the human literature are extrapolated to make the diagnosis and discuss potential negative prognostic indicators of this condition in cats.