Acute heart failure and cardiogenic arterial thromboembolism in cats: clinical and echocardiographic features

Acute heart failure and arterial thromboembolism are common complications of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in cats. These conditions have many common links in pathogenesis, so analyzing the differences between them improves the understanding of the impact of vessel occlusion on the body. In the study, 40 clinical cases were analyzed and two groups were formed: the first – cats with arterial thromboembolism and the second – cats with acute heart failure. The data from anamnesis, clinical examination and echocardiographic examination were collected. Age, sex, breed, weight, temperature, frequency of respiratory movements, signs of dyspnea, presence of pulmonary edema, presence of free fluid in the chest and pericardial cavities were analyzed. The following echocardiographic parameters were analyzed: left ventricular wall thickness, left ventricular end-systolic and end-diastolic dimensions, diameters of the aorta and left atrium, heart rate and left ventricular contraction fraction. It was established that the majority of animals from both groups were males. Acute heart failure was registered mainly in young cats (M = 3.7), in contrast to animals with arterial thromboembolism (M = 6.7), (P < 0.01). There was no significant difference in the values of rectal temperature, weight, heart rate, aortic diameter, and left ventricular contraction fraction. Most animals from both groups had signs of dyspnoea. The difference in the frequency of respiratory movements was significant (P < 0.01). In cats with acute heart failure, pulmonary edema was diagnosed in 85%, free fluid in the thoracic and/or pericardial cavities in 55 %. In animals with thromboembolism, edema was found in 45 %, and effusion in the chest and/or pericardial cavities in 30 % of animals. The established differences indicate that arterial thromboembolism develops in animals that have had heart pathology for a longer period of time, whereas acute heart failure occurs more suddenly in cats.