2015 ACVIM Forum Research Abstract Program

In spite of the visibly improved aerobic condition, no improvement in HRV indices was documented in dogs with varying degrees of myxomatous mitral valve disease, suggesting that no change occurred in the autonomic nervous system of these animals after the 8-week treadmill training. However, further studies with more animals trained over a longer period of time might clarify whether exercise might play a beneficial role in sympathetic-parasympathetic balance in dogs with cardiac diseases. Circulating omega-3 fatty acid concentrations are decreased in dogs with congestive heart failure (CHF) and supplementation of omega-3 fatty acids has some benefits in people and dogs with cardiac disease. Cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), however, have higher serum concentrations of docosahexanoic acid (DHA) and total omega-3 fatty acids. This raises the question of whether omega-3 fatty acid supplementation would be beneficial in cats with cardiac disease. Therefore, the goal of this study was to determine if serum omega-3 fatty acid concentrations are related to survival time in cats with HCM. Cats with HCM from which serum fatty acid profiles were available and outcome was known were eligible for the study. Cats were excluded if they had significant concurrent disease (e.g., cancer, diabetes, chronic kidney disease) or were receiving fish oil supplementation. Echocardiography was performed on all cats. Serum fatty acid analysis was performed using chloroform methanol extraction and gas chromatography. Fatty acids were categorized as "high" if they were ≥ the median for the group and "low" if they were < the median for the group. Date of death was determined by contacting the owner or the primary care veterinarian. This study was approved by the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University Clinical Studies Review Committee. Kaplan-Meier curves and log-rank tests were used to compare survival times between cats with high vs low omega-3 fatty acid concentrations using commercial statistical software. 25 cats with HCM were eligible for the study. Median age was 8 years (range, 1-16 years), with 20 castrated males and 5 spayed females. Breeds included 14 domestic shorthairs, 5 domestic longhairs, 3 Persians, 2 Ragdolls, and 1 Himalayan. Initial presentation was CHF (n = 16), arterial thromboembolism (ATE; n = 2), and asymptomatic (n = 7). Median survival time was 688 days (range, 2-4043 days). 9 cats were still alive at the time of analysis. Serum eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and DHA concentrations were not significantly different between cats with and without CHF or cats with and without ATE. Cats with CHF (P = 0.007) or ATE (P = 0.02) had significantly shorter survival times compared to asymptomatic cats. Cats with a high EPA concentrations had a significantly longer survival time compared to cats with a low serum EPA concentration (P = 0.04). There was no significant difference in survival times between cats with high vs low DHA concentrations. Results of this retrospective study suggest that supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids, particularly EPA, may have benefits in cats with HCM, but prospective studies are needed. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical efficacy and safety between angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) imidapril and ramipril in dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD).