Prognostic Value of Quantifying Right Heart Echocardiographic Values in Dogs With Pulmonary Hypertension

CHF Grant 01982: Personalized Medicine: The Intersection of Genotype and Drug Responsiveness in the Treatment of Canine Pulmonary Hypertension
2013 Clinician Scientist Fellowship: Lance Visser, DVM; The Ohio State University

Publication: Visser LC, Wood JE, Johnson LR. Survival characteristics and prognostic importance of echocardiographic measurements of right heart size and function in dogs with pulmonary hypertension. J Vet Intern Med. 2020;1–10. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.15826

What can we learn?
The goal of this study was to determine if right heart echocardiographic measurements are associated with survival times in dogs with pulmonary hypertension. Echocardiographs from 82 dogs with pulmonary hypertension representing 15 different breeds and mixed breeds seen at the University of California, Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital between 2015 and 2018 were reviewed. Right heart enlargement was common in dogs with pulmonary hypertension regardless of the underlying etiology. Measurements indicating increased right atrial size, decreased right ventricular function, and right heart failure were each associated with reduced survival time in this population.

Conclusion: Right heart echocardiographic measurements can provide clinically relevant prognostic information for dogs with pulmonary hypertension.