Quadricuspid aortic valve in a 16-year-old Quarter horse.
Abstract: A 16-year-old horse, 400 kg, male, Quarter horse gelding was examined for a cardiac murmur that had not been previously heard. Physical examination revealed a regularly irregular pulse and a grade III/VI, decrescendo, diastolic murmur with a point of maximum intensity over the left heart base. Base-apex standard electrocardiographic examination at rest showed sinus rhythm with second-degree atrio-ventricular blocks. Echocardiography identified the presence of four aortic valve cusps, two equal larger and two unequal smaller cusps. Color flow Doppler examination showed a diastolic regurgitant jet emerging from the central region of closed aortic valve. Based on clinical and echocardiographic findings a diagnosis of mild to moderate aortic valve insufficiency secondary to quadricuspid aortic valve was made. This report describes a rare congenital heart defect that can be detected by transthoracic echocardiography in the horse.
Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Publication Date: 2024-09-20 PubMed ID: 39306145DOI: 10.1016/j.jevs.2024.105199Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary
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A 16-year-old Quarter horse was diagnosed with a rare congenital heart defect called a quadricuspid aortic valve, which was identified due to the presence of a new heart murmur and confirmed through echocardiogram and Doppler examination.
Background and Case Presentation
- The horse examined is a 16-year-old male Quarter horse gelding, weighing 400 kg.
- The horse was examined due to a newfound cardiac murmur, a sound caused by turbulent blood flow in the heart. This murmur hadn’t been identified on the horse before.
- Other notable physical examination findings include a heartbeat that was regularly irregular and a grade III/VI decrescendo, diastolic murmur. This means the murmur gets quieter over time and occurs when the heart muscle is relaxing and filling with blood.
- The murmur was loudest, or had its point of maximum intensity, over the left heart base.
Diagnostic Tests and Findings
- A base-apex standard electrocardiographic examination was conducted while the horse was at rest. This revealed that the heart was in sinus rhythm, which is the normal heartbeat rhythm, but also had second-degree atrioventricular blocks, indicating a delay or obstruction in the electrical signals from the atria to the ventricles.
- An echocardiography (an ultrasound of the heart) showed that the aortic valve had four cusps rather than the normal three. Two of these cusps were larger and equal in size, while the other two were smaller and not equal.
- A Color flow Doppler examination showed a stream of blood flowing backwards (a diastolic regurgitant jet) from the central region of the closed aortic valve, suggesting the valve wasn’t closing properly.
Diagnosis and Conclusion
- Given the results of the physical exam and imaging tests, a diagnosis of mild to moderate aortic valve insufficiency secondary to the quadricuspid aortic valve was made.
- Aortic valve insufficiency refers to the aortic valve not closing tightly, which causes blood to flow backwards into the heart. This was due to the quadricuspid aortic valve, a rare congenital heart defect where the aortic valve has four cusps instead of three.
- This report shows the usefulness of transthoracic echocardiography for detecting rare heart defects in horses.
Cite This Article
APA
Caivano D, Cicogna M, Orvieto S, Spitale D, Porciello F.
(2024).
Quadricuspid aortic valve in a 16-year-old Quarter horse.
J Equine Vet Sci, 142, 105199.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2024.105199 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Via San Costanzo 4, Perugia, 06126, Italy. Electronic address: domenico.caivano@unipg.it.
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Via San Costanzo 4, Perugia, 06126, Italy.
- Private Practitioner, Perugia, Italy.
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Via San Costanzo 4, Perugia, 06126, Italy.
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, Via San Costanzo 4, Perugia, 06126, Italy.
MeSH Terms
- Horses
- Animals
- Horse Diseases / diagnostic imaging
- Horse Diseases / diagnosis
- Male
- Aortic Valve / abnormalities
- Aortic Valve / diagnostic imaging
- Echocardiography / veterinary
- Aortic Valve Insufficiency / veterinary
- Aortic Valve Insufficiency / diagnostic imaging
- Heart Defects, Congenital / veterinary
- Heart Defects, Congenital / diagnostic imaging
- Heart Defects, Congenital / diagnosis
Conflict of Interest Statement
Declaration of competing interest All authors declare that there is no conflicts of interest.
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