Guide to Canine and Feline Electrocardiography

List of Contributors vii

Preface ix

Acknowledgements xi

About the Companion Website xiii

1 Anatomy of the Conduction System 1
Pedro Oliveira

2 Cardiac Electrophysiology 9
Antonia Mavropoulou

3 Cardiac Vectors and the Genesis of the Electrocardiogram 21
Pedro Oliveira

4 Electrocardiography 35
Ruth Willis

5 Sinus Rhythms 57
Ruth Willis

6 Pathogenesis and Classification of Arrhythmias 67
Antonia Mavropoulou

7 Bradyarrhythmias and Conduction Disturbances 79
Ruth Willis

8 Atrial Rhythms 109
Pedro Oliveira

9 Atrial Fibrillation 127
Ruth Willis

10 Junctional Rhythms 147
Pedro Oliveira

11 Ventricular Rhythms 169
Antonia Mavropoulou

12 Clinical Approach to Arrhythmias and Intermittent Collapse 189
Ruth Willis

13 Diagnostic Approach to Narrow‐QRS Complex Tachycardia 201
Antonia Mavropoulou

14 Diagnostic Approach to Wide‐QRS Complex Tachycardia 211
Antonia Mavropoulou

15 Ambulatory Electrocardiographic Recordings 219
Ruth Willis

16 Heart Rate Variability 231
Domingo Casamian‐Sorrosal

17 Anti‐arrhythmic Drugs 241
Joel Freitas da Silva

18 Pacemaker Therapy 255
Simon Swift

19 Electrophysiology Studies and Catheter Ablation 271
Pedro Oliveira and Martin Lowe

20 Arrhythmias in Canine Cardiomyopathies and Valvular Heart Disease 285
Gerhard Wess and Marin Torti

21 Arrhythmias in Feline Cardiomyopathies 301
Erin L. Anderson

22 Inherited Ventricular Arrhythmias in German Shepherd Dogs 315
Thibault Ribas and Romain Pariaut

23 Systemic Disease and Arrhythmias, Including Selected Non‐cardiogenic Causes of Collapse 319
Jon Wray

24 Cardiac Arrhythmias and Anaesthesia 337
Frances Downing and Louise Clark

Appendix 1 Normal ECG Measurements for Cats and Dogs 349

Appendix 2 Arrhythmias – A Brief Review 351

Appendix 3 Mean Electrical Axis 381

Appendix 4 Anti‐Arrhythmic Drugs and Dosages 387

Appendix 5 Sample ECG Reports 389

Self-assessment 393

Index 425

Ruth Willis BVM&S DVC MRCVS RCVS

Specialist in cardiology

Ruth graduated from the Royal (Dick) College of Veterinary Medicine in Edinburgh and worked in small animal practice for 2 years before returning to Glasgow University to study for a post-graduate qualification in cardiology and respiratory medicine. She was awarded the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons Diploma in Veterinary Cardiology in 2002 and is a RCVS Recognised Specialist in Veterinary Cardiology.

Pedro Oliveira, DVM MRCVS DipECVIM-CA (Cardiology)

RCVS and EBVS® European Veterinary Specialist in Small Animal Cardiology and Head of Cardiology

Pedro Oliveira qualified from Porto University (Portugal) in 2005. From 2004 to 2006 he performed an internship and worked in the cardiology department of Clinica Veterinaria Gran Sasso in Milan (Italy). From 2006 to 2009 he worked in general practice and also performed referral cardiology services in Portugal. In 2009 he returned to Milan to enroll in a 3 year ECVIM-CA residency training program, specialty of cardiology, under the supervision of Claudio Bussadori, Dipl. ECVIM-Ca (Cardiology) and Oriol Domenech, Dipl. ECVIM-Ca (Cardiology) with the joint participation of the École Nationale Veterinaire de Lyon (Lyon, France) under the supervision of Prof. Jean-Luc Cadoré, Dipl. ECVIM-Ca (Internal Medicine). Since the beginning of 2011 he has performed interventional cardiology services in Porto (Portugal) and Barcelona (Spain). Pedro joined the Davies Veterinary Specialists Cardiology Service in October 2012.

Antonia Mavropoulou

DVM MRCVS MS PhD DipECVIM-CA (Card.)

Cardiologist

After graduating from the University of Parma in 2001, Antonia Mavropoulou completed an Internship at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of Parma University. From 2003 to 2011 Antonia had the opportunity to work in academia obtaining a MS in cardiology, a 4-year Research Fellowship for studies of cardiac arrhythmias and a PhD for studies of cytokine expression in Mitral Valve Disease. In February 2014 Antonia completed a 3-year ECVIM-CA residency training program at the veterinary clinic “Gran Sasso” (Milan) under the supervision of Claudio Bussadori DipECVIM-CA (Cardiology) and Cambridge University under the supervision of Prof. Mike Herrtage (DipECVIM-CA Internal Medicine, DipECVIM-CA Diagnostic Imaging). She has been a member of the cardiology team at DVS since 2014.