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

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A special issue of Veterinary Sciences (ISSN 2306-7381). This special issue belongs to the section "Veterinary Internal Medicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 February 2027 | Viewed by 6325

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Editors

Prof. Dr. Ryou Tanaka

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Guest Editor

Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Fuchu 183-8509, Tokyo, Japan
Interests: mitral regurgitation; extracorporeal circulation; veterinary cardiology; veterinary surgery
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Zeki Yilmaz

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Guest Editor

Department of Internal Medicine, The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Bursa Uludag University, Bursa 16059, Türkiye
Interests: valvular heart diseases; cardiomyopathies; proteomics; speckle tracking echocardiography; veterinary cardiology

Special Issue Information

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

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Veterinary Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

advanced echocardiography
speckle tracking echocardiography
tissue tracking echocardiography
3D/4D echocardiography
interventricular pressure gradients
myocardial work indices
tissue Doppler imaging
cardiomyopathy
feline HCM
canine MMVD
pulmonary hypertension
restrictive cardiomyopathy (RCM)
arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ARVC)
biomarkers
cardiac troponins
NT-proBNP
precision cardiology
novel therapeutics
cardioprotective agents
thromboembolism prophylaxis
mitochondrial therapies
machine learning
artificial intelligence
interventional cardiology
heart failure
small-animal cardiology
dogs
cats

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 407 KB

Open AccessArticle

Hemodynamic Effects of Intravenous Ephedrine Administration During General Anesthesia for Radiation Therapy in Cats

by Daichi Seki, Seijirow Goya, Kenji Teshima and Yoshiki Yamaya

Vet. Sci. 2026, 13(9), 872; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci13090872 - 27 Aug 2026

Abstract

Ephedrine is used as a vasopressor in cats, but the hemodynamic effects of intravenous (IV) administration have not been characterized. This study evaluated the hemodynamic effects of IV ephedrine in 10 cats that developed hypotension during anesthesia. Cats received either saline (SE) or atropine (AE) before ephedrine for hypotension (mean arterial pressure < 60 mmHg). Hemodynamic variables were analyzed using a linear mixed-effects model. No significant differences were observed between groups in the response rate (defined as mean arterial pressure ≥ 65 mmHg after ephedrine administration; SE, 70%; AE, 80%) or the duration of the pressor response (SE, 4 [1–10] min; AE, 3 [1–5] min). A significant main effect of ephedrine administration was identified for the systemic vascular resistance index, with increases observed in both groups, reaching statistical significance in the AE group. Significant interaction effects were observed for heart rate and cardiac index, both of which increased significantly in the AE group. These findings indicate that the pressor effect of IV ephedrine in anesthetized hypotensive cats is mediated primarily by increasing systemic vascular resistance index. Ephedrine provides a rapid and reliable pressor response and may be considered an early treatment option for anesthesia-induced hypotension in cats. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases in Small Animals)

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17 pages, 1135 KB

Open AccessArticle

One Polish Center’s Experience of Catheter Ablation for Cardiac Arrhythmias in Dogs

by Agnieszka Noszczyk-Nowak, Piotr Frydrychowski, Justyn Gach, Zuzanna Wojtczak, Alicja Cepiel-Kośmieja, Artur Fuglewicz and Krzysztof Nowak

Vet. Sci. 2026, 13(8), 760; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci13080760 - 30 Jul 2026

Viewed by 806

Abstract

Radiofrequency catheter ablation is a minimally invasive electrophysiological procedure that utilizes radiofrequency energy to induce targeted thermal injury within arrhythmogenic myocardial tissue, thereby eliminating the substrate responsible for rapid and irregular cardiac rhythm disturbances. Radiofrequency ablation is a method widely used in human medicine for the permanent treatment of arrhythmias. In veterinary medicine, there are only a few centers worldwide that use this treatment method in dogs. This article presents the experiences of a Polish center in treating supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias using this method. The first electrophysiological study and ablation were performed using an analog electrophysiological system; subsequent procedures were performed with the aid of a computerized system, and the last three procedures were performed using a 3D electroanatomical system. A total of 14 radiofrequency ablation procedures were performed on dogs weighing 10 to 33 kg, aged 9 months to 9 years, of various sexes and breeds. Fifty percent of the dogs that underwent ablation had both clinical and echocardiographic signs of tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy. Three dogs required a re-ablation procedure. Complete elimination of clinically significant arrhythmias was achieved in 13 of 14 dogs, while one dog showed partial procedural success. No significant or permanent complications were observed in any of the dogs. Radiofrequency ablation procedures for arrhythmias are effective and safe. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases in Small Animals)

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17 pages, 1701 KB

Open AccessArticle

Left Atrioventricular Coupling Index in Feline Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: Association with Disease Severity and Arterial Thromboembolism

by Tuğba Varlik, Didem Algan, Ryou Tanaka and Zeki Yilmaz

Vet. Sci. 2026, 13(5), 491; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci13050491 - 19 May 2026

Viewed by 1114

Abstract

HCM is the most prevalent cardiac disease in cats and is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Among its complications, FATE represents a major adverse clinical outcome. Conventional echocardiographic indices typically assess atrial or ventricular parameters separately and may not fully capture the structural relationship between the LA and LV. The left atrioventricular coupling index (LACI) is a volumetric ratio that combines LA remodeling and LV chamber size at end-diastole into a single structural index. This retrospective, cross-sectional observational study included 91 cats, classified according to ACVIM guidelines into healthy controls (n = 33), asymptomatic HCM (stage B1, n = 14; stage B2, n = 16), symptomatic HCM (stage C, n = 15), and cats with FATE (n = 13). Conventional and two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography were performed, and LACI-ED was calculated as the ratio of LA end-diastolic volume to LV end-diastolic volume. LACI-ED increased progressively with disease severity (p < 0.001), showing the highest values in symptomatic HCM and FATE cases. It correlated positively with LA size and volume (p < 0.01) and inversely with LV GLS (p < 0.01). Exploratory ROC analysis for FATE status yielded limited discriminatory performance for LACI-ED > 150% (AUC = 0.575; 95% CI: 0.402–0.736; sensitivity 46.2%; specificity 84.4%). Although LACI-ED > 150% was associated with higher odds of prevalent FATE (OR = 4.65; 95% CI: 1.405–29.215; p = 0.020), this finding should be interpreted with caution. Pairwise comparisons of ROC curve areas between LACI-ED and conventional echocardiographic parameters (LA/Ao ratio, LA diameter, and LV GLS) revealed no statistically significant differences (all p > 0.05). Although LACI-ED > 150% was associated with higher odds of prevalent FATE (OR = 6.8; p < 0.05), this finding should be interpreted with caution. This cross-sectional study evaluates associations with disease stage and thromboembolic status at the time of examination. The findings suggest that LACI-ED reflects disease severity in feline HCM, whereas its utility for thromboembolic risk assessment appears limited. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases in Small Animals)

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11 pages, 2071 KB

Open AccessArticle

Left Atrioventricular Coupling Index: An Echocardiographic Index of Atrioventricular Dysfunction in Dogs with Myxomatous Mitral Valve Disease

by Federica Valeri, Francesco Porciello, Mark Rishniw, Simone Cupido, Maria Cicogna, Andrea Corda and Domenico Caivano

Vet. Sci. 2026, 13(2), 201; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci13020201 - 20 Feb 2026

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1727

Abstract

The close physiological relationship between the left atrium (LA) and left ventricle (LV) suggests that an index assessing both the cardiac chambers simultaneously could provide useful information about disease severity. Consequently, investigators have proposed the atrioventricular coupling index (LACi) and demonstrated its utility in predicting the likelihood of atrial fibrillation, heart failure, and other cardiovascular events in humans. No studies have been reported in veterinary medicine. Therefore, we measured the LACi in healthy dogs and dogs affected by myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD). Two hundred and thirty-three dogs (105 healthy dogs and 128 dogs with MMVD) were retrospectively included in the study. The LACi (LA volume/LV volume × 100) at LV end-diastole (LACi-ED) and LV end-systole (LACi-ES) of each dog was measured using a monoplane Simpson’s Method of Discs from the left apical four-chamber view. In healthy dogs, LACi-ED and LACi-ES showed no relationship with bodyweight, heart rate and age (R² < 0.03, for all variables). In MMVD dogs, LACi-ED and LACi-ES differed between ACVIM stages (p < 0.001 and p < 0.02, for all stages). The LACi-ED and LACi-ES had similar accuracy in identifying MMVD dogs with congestive heart failure (area under the curve of 0.920 and 0.906, respectively). Our data suggest that the LACi can be useful in assessing left atrioventricular function in dogs with MMVD but the diagnostic accuracy in identifying dogs with congestive heart failure was not superior to the left atrial-to-aortic ratio. Prospective studies are needed to evaluate the predictive value of this new echocardiographic index in dogs affected by MMVD. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases in Small Animals)

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15 pages, 1732 KB

Open AccessArticle

Computed Tomography Assessment of the Bronchial Lumen–Vertebral Body and Pulmonary Artery–Vertebral Body Relationships in Cats Naturally Infected with Immature Dirofilaria immitis

by Sara Nieves García-Rodríguez, Jorge Isidoro Matos, Laín García-Guasch, Eva Mohr-Peraza, José Alberto Montoya-Alonso and Elena Carretón

Vet. Sci. 2026, 13(2), 186; https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci13020186 - 13 Feb 2026

Viewed by 989

Abstract

Feline heartworm disease, caused by Dirofilaria immitis, is often underdiagnosed, particularly during its larval stage, known as Heartworm-Associated Respiratory Disease, (HARD). This study aimed to quantify CT-detectable pulmonary changes in naturally infected cats. Computed tomography (CT) was performed in 38 cats: Group A (n = 30, symptomatic seropositive) and Group B (n = 8, asymptomatic seronegative). Bronchial and pulmonary artery diameters were indexed to the sixth thoracic vertebral body (T6) to calculate bronchial-to-vertebral body (B/VB) and pulmonary artery-to-vertebral body (A/VB) ratios across all lung lobes. Group A cats showed significantly higher B/VB ratios in the left cranial and right middle lobes compared with Group B (p < 0.05), with increases of 42.0% and 47.5%, respectively. Conversely, A/VB ratios did not differ significantly between groups (p > 0.05), indicating the absence of relevant vascular remodelling. Intra-operator and inter-observer reliability were excellent (intraclass correlation coefficients > 0.85). These findings suggest that bronchial dilation in the absence of arterial enlargement represents a key tomographic feature of larval D. immitis infection. Quantitative CT ratios, particularly the B/VB ratio, provide objective imaging markers for the diagnosis of HARD in clinical practice, and may assist in differentiating this condition from other feline respiratory diseases in endemic areas. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases in Small Animals)

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