Montse Rabanal – Veterinary Cardiology – ECG Veterinary
Cardiopathies generate two signs: those produced by the congestion and those derivatives of the cardiac use reduce.
In the first case, the left-sided heart failure will generate pulmonary oedema and dyspnea and it will be more dangerous depending on the oedema gravity. Pulmonary oedema makes difficult breath. In auscultation, it´s possible to see cracklings and the increase of the cardiac frequency.
A cough is related to the severe increase of the left atrium (this happen first to pulmonary oedema). Is essential to distinguish the cough of the respiratory system than bronchial, without a left auricular increase.
The increase of the heart chambers produces the right-sided heart failure, and it makes difficult the venous returns, blood would accumulate and cause ascites (is not very usual than pulmonary oedema). It should be distinguished than other causes of ascites, like hypoproteinemia or pericardial effusion.
Signs of poor cardiac use are they that generate less perfusion, peripheric and central, generating symptoms like fatigue, less tolerance to exercise, weakness, syncopes, weight loss, etc. The structural cardiac alterations (dilation or lesion obstruction) can produce the reduction of the cardiac use. Another option will be the appearance of arrhythmias (tachycardia or bradycardia) that makes less efficient the pumping or directly reduce the heart pumps blood.
In exploration, the detection of a heart murmur or arrhythmias will make value the cause because not always is related with a primary cardiopathy (for example, heart murmurs associated to polycythemia, anaemia, or arrhythmias caused by hypertonia associated with hypothyroidism, pheochromocytoma, etc.)
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