Description of clinical findings, diagnosis, and treatment of congestive heart failure in 13 goats.

Objective: Congestive heart failure (CHF) in goats is rarely described. This case series aimed to describe the presenting complaints, clinical findings, treatment, and outcome of goats diagnosed with CHF.

Animals: 13 goats diagnosed with CHF from 2008 to 2022 admitted to a tertiary referral center.

Clinical presentation: 8 goats had primary cardiac disease, and 5 had secondary causes of heart failure. None of the goats diagnosed with CHF were initially presented for cardiovascular disease. The predominant physical examination finding was tachycardia (HR, > 100 beats/min; median, 130 beats/min; range, 80 to 190 beats/min; n = 12), with a normal cardiac rhythm (12). Other common findings included effusion, edema, and venous congestion.

Results: Common clinicopathologic findings included elevated plasma GGT enzyme activity (median, 139 U/L; range, 69 to 792 U/L; n = 11) and a normal total solids concentration (median, 6.4 g/dL; range, 4.2 to 8.6 g/dL; 11). Imaging findings included the presence of effusion in at least 1 cavity for all goats. Seven goats were treated with cardiac-targeted therapies including β-blockers (n = 2), digoxin (3), benazepril (1), and furosemide (5). One goat diagnosed with atrial fibrillation underwent successful transcutaneous electrical cardioversion for treatment of the arrhythmia. Three of the 7 goats (43%) treated with cardiac-targeted therapy survived to discharge, 1 goat was referred for radiation, and 9 of the 13 goats did not survive to discharge.

Clinical relevance: Congestive heart failure should be considered in goats presenting with tachycardia, effusions with a normal peripheral total solids concentration, and elevated GGT plasma activity. Although CHF offers a poor prognosis based on the cases in this series, management of CHF is possible.