Evaluation of Left Ventricular Function in Healthy Retrievers Using Standard and 2D Speckle-Tracking Echocardiography
by
, , , , , and
Lina Hamabe
1
,
Kazumi Shimada
1,*,
Ahmed S. Mandour
1,2,*
,
Tomohiko Yoshida
1,
Miki Hirose
1,
Hanan Hendawy
1,3
,
Hussein M. El-Husseiny
1,4
and
Ryou Tanaka
1
1
Department of Veterinary Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo 183-8509, Japan
2
Department of Animal Medicine (Internal Medicine), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt
3
Department of Veterinary Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia 41522, Egypt
4
Department of Surgery, Anesthesiology and Radiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Benha University, Benha 13736, Egypt
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Vet. Sci. 2022, 9(10), 529; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci9100529
Submission received: 11 August 2022
/
Revised: 17 September 2022
/
Accepted: 25 September 2022
/
Published: 27 September 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current and Future Advances of Cardiology in Veterinary Research and Clinical Practice)
Simple Summary
Standard echocardiography is an essential diagnostic tool for the assessment of cardiac performance in healthy and diseased animals. Two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography is an advanced echocardiographic technique that is useful for the assessment of myocardial function. Factors such as dog breed, age, and body weight (BW) are known to influence the echocardiographic parameters. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of breed, age, and BW on the echocardiographic parameters in healthy Retrievers, including Flat-coated, Golden, and Labrador Retrievers. The results showed that there were no significant associations between breed and echocardiographic parameters. On the other hand, they revealed that left ventricular dimensions increased with BW. Furthermore, parameters including peak aortic blood flow velocity, trans-mitral rapid ventricular filling flow, the ratio of trans-mitral rapid ventricular filling flow to atrial contraction, and global radial strain were influenced by age.
Abstract
Standard echocardiography is vital for the assessment of cardiac performance in healthy and diseased animals. Similarly, two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (2D-STE) is an advanced echocardiographic technique that is becoming increasingly important for the assessment of myocardial function. Breeds, age, and body weight (BW) are known to be important factors affecting the echocardiographic parameters; therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of breed, age, and BW on the echocardiographic parameters in three breeds of clinically healthy Retrievers. A total of 46 Retrievers, including 16 Flat-coated Retrievers (FR), 16 Golden Retrievers (GR), and 14 Labrador Retrievers (LR) were included in the study. The comparison of the breeds revealed significant differences in the LV wall thickness of FR and GR, although further analysis using MLR showed that the differences were most likely associated with BW, similarly to the other LV dimensions. Functional parameters, including ejection fraction, fractional shortening, and left-atrial-to-aortic ratio, were independent of breed, age, and BW. On the other hand, peak aortic blood flow velocity, trans-mitral rapid ventricular filling flow, and the ratio of trans-mitral rapid ventricular filling flow to atrial contraction were influenced by age. The 2D-STE-derived radial and circumferential strain parameters were independent of breed, age, and BW, except for global strain in the radial direction.
Keywords:
echocardiography; Retrievers; speckle tracking; strain
