Recent Advances in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases in Small Animals

Dear Colleagues,

Cardiovascular diseases remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality in small animals and represent a rapidly evolving field within veterinary internal medicine. Over the past decade, significant progress has been made in advanced diagnostic imaging, biomarker discovery, and the development of novel therapeutic strategies for feline and canine cardiomyopathies, congenital heart diseases, arrhythmias, and acquired myocardial disorders. These advances mirror similar developments in human cardiology, highlighting the translational relevance of small-animal models and emphasizing the potential for cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Despite the availability of traditional diagnostic techniques, such as 2D echocardiography, M-mode, Doppler assessments, and tissue Doppler imaging, emerging technologies are transforming clinical decision-making processes. Techniques such as speckle tracking echocardiography, three-dimensional and four-dimensional echocardiography, assessment of interventricular pressure gradients, myocardial work indices, and machine learning-assisted image analysis offer unprecedented insight into myocardial mechanics. Together, these tools improve the early detection of disease, risk stratification, and monitoring of therapeutic response in dogs and cats.

Alongside diagnostic innovation, therapeutic strategies have expanded to include novel cardioprotective drugs, targeted antifibrotic agents, metabolic modulators, mitochondrial therapies, and advanced supplements aimed at improving myocardial function. Precision medicine approaches that incorporate genomic markers, neurohormonal profiling, and individualized treatment algorithms are becoming increasingly relevant in veterinary cardiology.

This Special Issue, titled “Recent Advances in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases in Small Animals”, aims to showcase high-impact research reflecting the current state of and future directions in small-animal cardiology. We invite submissions exploring advanced imaging techniques, innovative therapeutics, translational cardiology, artificial intelligence applications, interventional cardiology, and pathophysiological insights. By facilitating knowledge exchange among clinicians, researchers, and interdisciplinary teams, we hope that this issue will encourage ongoing growth and collaboration within the field.

Prof. Dr. Ryou Tanaka
Prof. Dr. Zeki Yilmaz
Guest Editors

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