Pulsed-wave Doppler tissue imaging velocities in normal geriatric cats and geriatric cats with primary or systemic diseases linked to specific cardiomyopathies in humans, and the influence of age and heart rate upon these velocities.

Pulsed-wave Doppler tissue imaging (pw-DTI) techniques allow the non-invasive assessment of myocardial dynamics. pw-DTI has demonstrated regional and global diastolic impairment in various forms of human and feline cardiomyopathy. We hypothesise that in geriatric cats with systemic diseases that have been linked to specific cardiomyopathies in human beings, the myocardial velocity profile will be altered when compared to either normal or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) cats; and that both age and heart rate have a significant affect upon pw-DTI velocities. The aims of this study were to determine whether the feline M-mode or myocardial velocity profile is altered in geriatric cats with disease states that have been linked to specific cardiomyopathies in humans when compared to normal geriatric cats or geriatric cats with HCM and to determine whether age or heart rate has a significant effect upon pw-DTI velocities within these groups of cats. Sixty-six cats aged 8 years or above were included in the study, and were divided as follows: Unaffected (n=8), basilar septal bulge (BSB) (17), HCM (14), hyperthyroid (HiT(4)) (12) and chronic renal failure (CRF) (15). Systolic blood pressure was normal in all the cats. pw-DTI systolic (S'), early (E') and late diastolic (A') velocities were assessed from standardised sites within the myocardium, and the relationships between these and disease group, age and heart rate were then assessed. In cats with HCM, the E' velocity was decreased at various sites. Conversely, the HiT(4) cats demonstrated increased S' velocities. The only site at which the age of the cat was significantly related to myocardial velocities was the S' velocity from the apical mid-septum. There were also significant positive relationships between heart rate and the magnitude of myocardial S', E' and A' velocities of radial motion and S' and A' velocities of longitudinal motion. pw-DTI detected diastolic dysfunction in untreated cats with HCM and increased systolic function in HiT(4) cats. The age of the cat was of little significance, whereas heart rate significantly influenced myocardial velocity profiles.