Bovine Cardiology Flashcards
When assessing the cardiovascular system what history is needed?
– Presenting sign
– Stage of production
– Past disease
* Pneumonia
* Rumenitis - acidosis
– Management
* Mixing
* Worming
* Altitude – e.g. 1600 meters in Colorado
On exam what subjective view should be noted?
- Undisturbed - then after handling – “provocation test”
- Condition score
- Visible oedema
- inter-mandibular
- brisket,
- Posture
- Respiratory effort
What are non-cardiac system signs of cardiac disease
- Reduce production
- Exercise intolerance
- Increased urine output
- Syncope
- Poor appetite when failing
What is different dehydration?
- 4-6% loss Normal (PCV 40%)
- 6-8% - Tenting 2-4 secs (PCV 50%) dry nose, mouth.
- 8-10% - Tenting 6-10 secs (PCV 55%) cold extremities, ± recumbant.
- 10-12% - Tenting 20+ secs (PCV 60+%) comatose, shock.
- 12+% - Death
What can be used to check reginonal temperature?
- Ears
- feel base + tip of ear to see difference
Why would mucous membrane appear pale?
- Anaemia - deficiencies (iron, copper, cobalt)
- toxicities (Kale, nitrate/nitrite, molybdenum)
- blood/protein loss (Haemonchosis, fasciolasis, johnes, sucking lice, PGE, redwater, lepto)
- Poor perfusion - shock (RDA)
- heart failure
- thrombosis
Why would mucous membranes appear red?
- Toxaemia
- Salmonellosis
- Pasteurellosis
- Malignant catarrhal fever
- Infectious bovine kerato-conjuctivitis
- Infectious bovine rhinotracheitis
What would cause cyanotic mucous membranes?
- Respiratory failure
- Nitrate/nitrite, metaldehyde poisoning
- Congenital cardiac abnormalities - calves (heart in neck- ectopic)
What would cause jaundice of the mucous membranes?
- Hepatitis
- Haemolytic anaemia - babesia
- Photosensitisation
- Ragwort, kale, lupin, copper poisoning
- Post-partum haemoglobinuria
- Leptospirosis
What would cause haemorrhagic mucous membranes?
- Anthrax
- Bracken
- Sweet vernal grass poisoning
- Copper toxicity (acute)
- Leptospirosis
- Mycotoxicosis
Where could you take a pulse of a cow?
- Middle coccygeal - 10cm below anus
- External maxillary
- Medial, inside forelimb
- Caudal auricular
Normal HR for cow /calf?
- Cow = 50-80 (high yielders up to 95)
- Calves 100-120
- 120+ suggestive of primary cardiac disease
What is increased amplitude suggestive of?
- Aortic valve incompetence
What is decreased amplitude suggestive of?
- Myocardial weakness
- Toxaemia
- Shock
What is normal jugular pulse? What would cause it to be all the way up?
- Normal = up to 1/3 way up
- All the way:
- endocarditis
- pericarditis
- haemothorax
- hydrothorax
- congestive heart failure
- valvular stenosis
-sporadic bovine leukosis - thymic form
-enzootic bovine leukosis - cardiac form
What would cause dark red mucous membranes?
- methaemoglobin - nitrate/nitrite - acute - ingestion of fertiliser or freezing weather and grazing turnips
What are different sounds of valvular murmurs?
- Stenosis - rough /harsh
- Regurgitation / incompetence - softer, prrr
- Pre-systolic - brr-lub-dup
- systolic - lub-brr-dup
- diastolic - lub-dup-brr
What are different causes of endocarditis?
- Trueperella pyogenes, Cl. chauvoei, E.coli
- Mycoplasma - contagious bovine pleuropneumonia
- Streptococci
- Staphylococci
- Mannheimia
What are congenital causes of murmurs?
- Ventricular septal defects - most common
- Patent ductus arteriosus
- Patent foramen ovale
- Tetralogy of fallot - VSD, pulmonary stenosis, dextroposed aorta + secondary ventricular hypertrophy
- Aortic stenosis / persistent right aortic arch - milk regurgitation
What can cause murmurs from interference of blood flow / turbulence?
- Anaemia
- Cardiac - myocardial weakness (septicaemia, nutritional, poisoning, congenital)
- Extra-cardiac - vagal indigestion
- diaphragmatic hernia
- ruminal tympany
- oesophageal obstruction
What can cause pericarditis?
- Organisms similar to Endocarditis
– plus Haemophilus somnus, Mycobacterium Bovis - Traumatic reticulitis
What can be done to check for pericarditis?
- Grunt / Eric Williams test
- Bar (xiphisternum) test
- Withers pinch
What is dilated cardiomyopathy?
Genetic- seen in 2-3y/o holsteins
What is Caudal vena cava thrombosis?
- Between liver + right atrium
- Secondary to liver abscess
