Cascade Veterinary Cardiology provides a variety of diagnostics to allow your pet to have a comprehensive cardiology evaluation within your veterinarian’s office. Using a collaborative model, we provide consulting cardiology services to your primary veterinarian, including a formal report regarding diagnostic findings and treatment recommendations, as well as indicated monitoring and recheck evaluations. This partnership allows for a personalized cardiac treatment plan to be established for your pet taking into account any pertinent medical history, and your primary veterinarian’s office to continue to manage your pet’s overall health to ensure continuity of care. Our team will also continue to support your primary veterinarian’s office moving forward, in the event changes or questions arise in your pet’s health.
A summary of cardiac diagnostics offered by our team is provided below:
Echocardiography
An echocardiogram refers to an ultrasound, or sonogram, of the heart. This is a non-invasive imaging technique that allow for the heart’s internal structure and function to be assessed including the size of individual heart chambers, how well the heart contracts and relaxes, and the ability of the heart’s valves to open and close properly. This is the best test to assess the cause of a heart murmur, which is caused by turbulent blood flow through the heart. To perform an echocardiogram, a patient generally has to lay on their side for approximately 15-20 minutes (with breaks as needed). Shaving of a patient’s hair is typically not necessary. Sedation is also typically not required, however a mild sedative may be advised by your primary veterinarian’s office depending upon your pet’s temperament and stress.
Electrocardiography (ECG/EKG)
An electrocardiogram (also called an ‘ECG’ or ‘EKG’) assesses the heart’s electrical activity. In some patients with heart disease, an abnormal heart rhythm (also called an arrhythmia) can develop. This occurs most commonly in patients with advanced structural heart disease, however in some patients arrhythmias occur due to a primary cardiac electrical disease. In some cases, an abnormal heart rhythm can also occur associated with various systemic or body-wide conditions. An ECG is also a non-invasive test, typically requiring no shaving or sedation, and only minutes to perform.
Holter monitoring
A Holter monitor is a small, ambulatory ECG that allows for a patient’s heart rhythm to be evaluated over a prolonged duration (typically 24 hours). Such a diagnostic can be important to help assess for an intermittent arrhythmia and/or potential causes of weakness or fainting (syncope). Although this test is also considered non-invasive, it does require a small portion of a pet’s hair to be shaved and due to its size is generally not performed on cats or very small dogs.
