Medycyna Wet. 62 (1), 55-58, 2006
| Pasławska U., Noszczyk-Nowak A., Zyśko D., Gajek J., Nicpoń J. |
| Analysis of clinical cases of dogs with cardiogenic fainting |
| In recent years we have observed an increasing number of cases of fainting in dogs. These cases were investigated in the cardiological surgery at the Clinic of Horse, Dog and Cat Diseases at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Agricultural University in Wroclaw. The aim of the conducted research was to determine which heart diseases were the most frequent reason for fainting in dogs, what were the breed preferences and what diagnostic methods allowed for the diagnosis of the cardiogenic background of fainting. The research comprised 168 dogs, the patients of the cardiological surgery of the Clinic of Horse, Dog and Cat Diseases in the years 1996- -2004. There were dogs of different breeds, both sexes, aged from 2 months to 14.5 years and weighing from 2 to 63 kg. The dogs with a different basic disease or where liver insufficiency or epilepsy were diagnosed, were excluded from the examined group. The most frequent reasons for fainting are bradycardia, tachycardia and atrio-ventricular blocs, as well as organic heart disorders: dilated cardiomiopathy in large breeds and endocardiosis in small and miniature breeds. Fainting appears most frequently in boxers, dachshunds and mixed breeds up to 20 kg. The most useful diagnostic methods of fainting comprise: resting ECG, along with the vagus nerve stimulation test, 24-hour Holter ECG monitoring and echocardiography |
| Keywords: fainting, dog, arrhythmia |