Heart Studies In Whippets

[quintessence]

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My daughter is a 'human' cardiologist. I was discussing heart testing with her and she asked if there are any studies relating to whippet's hearts she can have a look at. I don't know the answer but I wondered if anyone could point me in the right direction. I have a feeling I have read that there are American studies but I can't remember where they are located. Perhaps someone can help.

Many Thanks

Jenny

 

[jok]

Hi Jenny,

Posted this on here so others can take a look too - (see attachment right at bottom of the post)

Also, there is the research that has been done in America by Virginia Luis-Fuentes and Rebecca Stepien. I know that the earlier this year a talk on their findings was given but (unless it has been very recently), the results aren't actually published yet in a document for us to view.

This is a copy of the results of their screening from 2004 - it does make interesting reading.

A complete cardiac screening clinic was offered at the 2004 National Specialty conducted by Dr. Rebecca Stepien and Dr. Virginia Luis-Fuentes. A total of 53 Whippets had the complete screening and in addition 12 were ausculted only. The cardiac clinic was subsidized by the Whippet Health Foundation. Dr. Stepien’s report follows:

 

65 dogs were screened during the AWC National Specialty in Greensboro, North Carolina in April, 2004. Of these 65 dogs, 12 underwent auscultation only, and 53 had auscultation results, an electrocardiogram (ECG) and an echocardio-gram recorded. This report is to summarize some of the early results of this testing. The results presented pertain to the 53 dogs that had both auscultation and echocardiogram recorded. These results are preliminary only and may change as more inform-ation is acquired and analyzed.

 

What was the purpose of the cardiac screening?

 

Many whippet owners are aware that their dogs have a heart murmur. In many cases, the dog is healthy and never shows any signs of cardiac disease. These murmurs may represent ejection murmurs (also called flow murmurs or athletic murmurs) and are the sound of blood rushing through a normal heart. Mitral valve (MV) insufficiency (a disorder of one of the left sided valves in which the valve thickens and does not close properly, leading to MV leakage) has also been documented in whippets. MV insufficiency may cause a heart murmur that is difficult to differentiate from ejection murmurs. The purpose of this screening event was to examine a group of healthy dogs at a large show to determine how many of the dogs have harmless “ejection” murmurs and how many have MV murmurs, and whether simple auscultation is adequate to differentiate the two conditions.

 

Who were these dogs?

 

Twenty six dogs in the study were male and 27 dogs were female. Most dogs were described as being in “good” condition (53%), 26% were considered to be “pet-level” athletes, 17% were considered to be in “top athletic” condition and 4% were considered to be non-athletic. No dogs had overt signs of heart disease. The average weight was 14 kg (31 lbs), but ranged from 8.6 kg (19 lbs) to 19 kg (42 lbs). The average age was 4.5 years, but as could be expected in a show population, most were young (75% were under 6 years old).

 

How many had murmurs?

 

In this narrow population, most dogs (>90%) had heart murmurs detected. More than half of the dogs had murmurs thought to be ejection murmurs, and about 1/3 had murmurs thought to be typical of mitral insufficiency.

 

How many had abnormal valvular echocardiographic findings?

 

Echocardiographic findings were categorized as mitral insufficiency, tricuspid insufficiency (leakage of the valve on the right side of the heart) and abnormalities of the MV apparatus (abnormal valve appearance). About 2/3 of the dogs were noted to have one or more MV abnormalities; most but not all MV anatomic abnormalities were associated with valvular insufficiency. A few dogs had only tricuspid insufficiency and many of the dogs had with MV also had TV insufficiency noted by color-flow Doppler.

 

Could we differentiate mitral murmurs from ejection murmurs?

 

Auscultation was able to “pick up” mitral insufficiency much more reliably if the insufficiency jet was moderate to severe. Mild grades of insufficiency were more difficult to differentiate from ejection murmurs in these healthy and athletic dogs.

 

What does it all mean?

 

Overview of the heart conditions under discussion:

 

1. Ejection murmurs (also called “athletic” or “flow” murmurs) are the sound of blood passing through normal valves. Ejection murmurs are most commonly heard in thin, athletic animals with large hearts. They can be a normal finding in a healthy animal, but may be confused with murmurs caused by heart diseases such as aortic stenosis or mitral insufficiency. Ejection murmurs are characteristically heard best at the left heart base, and their intensity may vary with the heart rate. They can be heard at any age.

 

2. Mitral murmurs (also called mitral regurgitation or insufficiency murmurs) are the sound of blood leaking backward through a mitral valve that does not close properly. The changes seen on the valve include thickening and improper/incomplete closure and are due to age-related degeneration of the valve. Dogs may have mitral murmurs and mitral insufficiency for years before showing any signs of heart disease, so overall good health does not indicate whether a murmur is indicative of valve disease or an ejection murmur. Mitral insufficiency murmurs are characteristically heart best over the left apex of the heart.

 

Mitral insufficiency due to degenerative valvular changes is a common disease of middle-aged to older dogs and as such, may be a disease of aging in whippets much as it is in other breeds. In contrast, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels are subject to an earlier onset of valvular changes peculiar to the breed, and this tendency is thought to be inherited.

 

3. Ejection murmurs may be detected in animals with other cardiac diseases including mitral insufficiency. Therefore, an animal diagnosed with an ejection murmur at one auscultation may also have or develop mitral disease.

 

4. Small amounts of valvular insufficiency may be noted by Doppler examination on both mitral and tricuspid valve. If trace insufficiency is not associated with overt anatomic abnormalities of the valve, it may indicate very early disease or be a normal variation in healthy dogs. Other factors used to decide the importance of small amounts of valvular insufficiency include cardiac chamber size, the presence of changes in heart rhythm and presence of clinical signs of heart disease (including exercise intolerance, easy fatigue, cough, difficulty breathing or fainting). In healthy dogs, the importance of small amounts of valvular insufficiency remains unclear and the presence of these findings should not be overemphasized.

 

A few words about the population:

 

The population screened this year was a young and healthy population of dogs, many of which were involved in some level of athletic competition. The high proportion of dogs with murmurs may be due to the prime body condition and athletic training of these animals and the proportion of whippets in the general population with ejection murmurs or mitral insufficiency cannot be deduced from this year’s information. In addition, the young age of most of these dogs may have an effect on the findings of a disease (MV insufficiency) commonly thought to be associated with aging.

 

Importance of this year’s findings:

 

This year’s findings indicate that many whippets have heart murmurs, and that many of these heart murmurs are not associated with echocardiographic abnormalities of the mitral or tricuspid valve. However, some healthy dogs do have evidence of moderate to severe MV insufficiency, and it is unclear from a study performed at a single point in time whether the MV disease noted is a disease of aging or may have an inherited component.

 

It is too early in the information-gathering process to make any recommendations regarding breeding in animals noted to have valvular abnormalities in this study. In many cases, it is unclear whether mild changes noted represent a developing process or normal variation in the population.

And from 2005.....

Summary of Cardiac Screenings: AWC National 2005

 

Rebecca L. Stepien DVM, MS, DACVIM (Cardiology)

 

Thanks to willing participants and the generous support of the Whippet Health Foundation, another successful screening session was completed at this year’s national specialty show. The screening was expanded to cover 5 days of screening (3 full days and 2 half days). The cardiology group wants to extend our thanks to all participants for their participation, patience, assistance (and for the great family stories!).

Sixty-five dogs were screened this year: 48 dogs were new participants, 10 dogs were rechecks that had been examined last year and 7 dogs fell into the new category of “senior advisors” to the project. These senior advisors provide important data since most of the other dogs presented for screening represent the younger end of the population spectrum.

We have multiple levels of data that we are collecting at these screening clinics, including prevalence of abnormal cardiac findings, progression of cardiac disease if present, defining the spectrum of “normal” in this breed of athletic dogs and detecting subclinical heart disease in this population.

 

Overview of the population screened this year:

65 dogs were examined. Ages ranged from 10 months to 15 years, with half of the dogs screened less than 2.8 years of age. Weights ranged from 9.8 20 kg (21.5 lbs 44 lbs) with the median weight of 15.6 kg (34 lbs). Their heart rates ranged from 60 160 bpm, with a median of 90 bpm.

 

Similar to last year’s findings, approximately 90% of the 65 dogs that were examined this year had audible heart murmurs. Most of the dogs with murmurs had ejection type murmurs consistent with athletic training. A small number of dogs did not have an audible murmur, and approximately a quarter of the dogs analyzed this year had mitral insufficiency murmurs noted.

Echocardiographically, the dogs were similar to last years’ population as well. Dogs with moderate or louder mitral murmurs typically had significant valvular anatomic abnormalities associated with valvular insufficiency, and >90% of dogs with murmurs thought to be ejection type murmurs had no or minor changes only on their echocardiograms. All of our senior advisors had mitral insufficiency, but were feeling well and were among our most willing participants!

 

What does it all mean?

One of the most important findings from this year’s screenings was that the proportion of affected dogs this year was similar to last year. Because all but 10 of these dogs were screened for the first time, the similarity in findings indicates that the findings are likely to be consistent from year to year, increasing the reliability of the data.

This year we introduced a streamlined form that was provided for owners on the day of the examination. We were very pleased with the ease of use of these forms, and would like to hear any comments/suggestions that participants may have

whippetheartinfo.pdf

 

[quintessence]

Many thanks Jo (and Rachel for the pm). I am sure this will be interesting to many people. I entered on the link and that looks like the sort of information Sarah would apppreciate.

Thanks again

Jenny

 

[Avalonia]

Thank you for posting this very interesting information. My vet here in Canada is a specialist in orthopedics with a very strong interest in cardiology as well. As he has a rather large practice of sighthounds, as most of the whippets we have bred have owners who have made him their vet of choice, and owners of other sighthounds now also rely on him, I am going to give him a copy of the study and the results of the two AWC assessments so he has a heads up and material for his file. While the worst thing he has reported to us over the years is two cases at different times of category 1/2 innocent murmurs in 8 week old pups, which thereafter disappeared by three months of age, it is worth having this information for reference sake as dogs age and if a dog should become ill.

I really appreciate your posting valuable info such as this.

Lanny Morry