Atrioventricular valve disease Flashcards
What are the two common forms of adult onset AV valve disease?
- ENdocardiosis (degeneration)
2. Endocarditis (infection)
What is the most common form of AV valve disease in dogs?
- Endocardiosis
What is the most common heart disease in the dog?
- Endocardiosis
What are four reasons that AV valves can be insufficient?
- Endocardiosis
- Endocarditis
- Dilation
- Dysplasia (congenital)
What do both endocardiosis and endocarditis ultimately result in?
- Insufficiency or incompetence of the AV valves
Does valvular insufficiency always equal valvular disease?
- NOPE
- Common secondary complications of ventricular enlargement as well
What can help you dfiferentiate the underlying cause of AV valve insufficiency?
- Signalment is super helpful
Pathophysiology of AV valvular insufficiency
- Blood leaks backwards into the atrium as soon as the ventricular pressure exceeds the atrial pressure (AKA in systole)
- Increased atrial size
- Decreased forward stroke volume
- Systolic plateau or flat murmur
- Left ventricular dilation
Pathophysiology of CHF secondary to left AV valvular insufficiency
- Left atrial dilation/pressure
- Pulmonary venous pressure
- Pulmonary edema
AND
- cardiac output is limited
- Neurohormonal increase in RAAS
- Fluid retention (CHF)
Do animals always show progressive disease before getting CHF?
- Nope
Tricuspid valvular pathophysiology
- same on right side
- Cranial and caudal vena cava pressures increase resulting in pleural effusion and/or hepatic venous congestion and ascites
- Elevations of systemic venous pressures are also related to fluid retention from low cardiac output
Definition of AV valve endocardiosis
- Age related degenerative disease of the cardiac valves of dogs
- Myxomatous degeneration
- Valve accumulates glycosaminoglycans and become very nodular and globular looking
AV Valve degeneration in horses
- Horses develop it as well, but it is not referred to as endocardiosis
- Valve cups ocntract and become grossly distorted
Which valve gets distorted most frequently in horses?
- Aortic valve
Endocardiosis in cats and cattle
- Does not happen
Who gets endocardiosis?
- Older small/toy breed dogs
- Cavalier King Charles!!
Which valve is most often affected in endocardiosis?
- Mitral valve, most often
Incidence of endocardiosis in small dogs
- 30-40%
Endocardiosis in CKCS
- Often develops at a young age
- Familial nature apparent in many breeds
- Often progress to CHF or progress more quickly
What are key aspects of diagnosis for endocardiosis?
- Signalment and physical exam
Quality of the murmur for endocardiosis
- Systolic click, early stages
- Initially soft
- Progressively louder and holosystolic
- Flat or plateau character
- PMI is apical (mitral or tricuspid area)
- Murmur may radiate
Grade of murmur and severity of disease in valvular endocardiosis?
- DOES NOT CORRELATE TO SEVERITY OF DISEASE
What is the most important diagnostic test for AV endocardiosis?
- Thoracic radiographs
What can you evaluate with thoracic radiographs for AV endocardiosis?
- Degree of volume load/heart size
- Evaluate for possible congestion or CHF
Radiographic abnormalities with AV endocardiosis
- Depend on stage
- May be normal even with severe heart murmur, early in disease
- +/- left atrial enlargement
- +/- left ventricular enlargement
- +/- pulmonary venous congestion or pulmonary edema
ECG with mitral valve endocardiosis
- May be normal
- May have evidence of LA or LV enlargement
- If you see a change, it’s there, but if you don’t see it, doesn’t mean it’s not
- May have arrhythmias due to dilated atria
Possible abnormalities with ECG
- P mitrale (wide P)
- Atrial fibrillation (indicates severe left atrial enlargement and irritation)
- SV (atrial) premature bet
- Tall R wave
Echocardiography changes for AV endocardiosis
- Thickened, irregular mitral valve or tricuspid valve
- Valve may prolapse into the atrium
- +/- left atrial enlargement
- +/- left ventricular enlargement
- +/- right atrial or ventricular enlargement
- +/- systolic dysfunction
- Mitral or tricuspid regurgitation can be seen on color Doppler
- Good systolic function until very severe and chronic volume overload present
Early impacts on contracility for mitral valve endocardiosis?
- Good contractility until quite late in disease
What type of hypertrophy happens with mitral valve regurgitation?
- Eccentric hypertrophy due to volume overload
Stage A endocardiosis definition
- Breeds at risk no murmur
- e.g. chihuahuas, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels
Stage A endocardiosis therapy
- None, monitor yearly