Cardiac tumors are rare and linked to high mortality rates in both human and veterinary medicine. Despite their clinical significance, the effects of these tumors on coagulation and cardiac function remain poorly understood. This retrospective study assessed coagulation profiles and echocardiographic parameters in 14 dogs with cardiac tumors compared to 10 healthy controls. Tumors were identified through echocardiography, with further confirmation by computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging. Coagulation was evaluated using conventional tests (prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT)) and thromboelastography (TEG). The employed conventional coagulation tests and echocardiographic parameters showed no significant differences between the groups. However, TEG revealed a hypercoagulable state in the majority of tumor-bearing dogs (8 out of 14), characterized by shortened reaction and clot formation times, as well as an increased α-angle and coagulation index (p < 0.05–0.001). No significant correlations were found between TEG parameters and echocardiographic indices. This study is the first to demonstrate subclinical hemostatic alterations using TEG in dogs with cardiac neoplasia. The results support the utility of TEG as a more sensitive tool than conventional tests for detecting hypercoagulability, potentially guiding individualized anticoagulant strategies in affected dogs.

Infective endocarditis (IE) is a rare but potentially fatal cause of feline arterial thromboembolism (ATE), most commonly affecting the mitral or aortic valves. Although Enterococcus faecalis is rarely reported in cats, it can induce severe endocardial infection and systemic embolic complications. This case report describes a one-year-old neutered male British Longhair cat that presented with acute hindlimb paralysis and dyspnoea lasting one day. The cat had a three-month history of lower urinary tract infection, but no known cardiac disease. On admission, all the classical signs of arterial obstruction were evident. Laboratory tests revealed neutrophilic leukocytosis and markedly increased serum amyloid A, indicating systemic inflammation. Echocardiography revealed thickened aortic valve leaflets with irregular vegetations and severe regurgitation, with no evidence of intracardiac thrombus. Left ventricular systolic function assessed by two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography was mildly reduced compared with reference values. Blood culture confirmed the presence of E. faecalis, which was susceptible to β-lactams but intrinsically resistant to cephalosporins. Initial empirical therapy included furosemide, low-molecular-weight heparin, and broad-spectrum antibiotics. This was later adjusted to ampicillin–sulbactam, and metronidazole upon receiving the culture results. This report emphasises the importance of considering xone,E. faecalis-associated infective aortic endocarditis in the diagnostic and therapeutic evaluation of feline ATE cases.

Although breast cancer has been associated with subclinical left ventricular dysfunction in humans, the cardiac effects of CMTs remain poorly defined. This pilot, exploratory (communication) study compared clinical and echocardiographic parameters between dogs with CMTs and healthy controls and assessed the feasibility of combining myocardial deformation imaging with exploratory data-driven analysis for preoperative cardiac assessment. All dogs underwent a standardized clinical and echocardiographic assessment, including two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (2D-STE). Given the limited sample size, analyses were designed to generate hypotheses rather than to provide definitive predictive conclusions. Exploratory machine learning modeling (XGBoost), receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, calibration, and decision curve analysis were performed as proof-of-concept approaches without external validation. Despite normal conventional systolic indices, dogs with CMTs exhibited reduced global longitudinal strain (GLS) and mitral annular plane systolic excursion (MAPSE) (p < 0.01), suggesting subclinical systolic dysfunction. Deformation-derived parameters appeared more sensitive for detecting subtle myocardial alterations within this cohort. The exploratory machine learning model demonstrated moderate discrimination (AUC-ROC = 0.75); however, these findings are preliminary and should not be interpreted as evidence of clinical predictive performance. Overall, these results suggest that conventional systolic indices may underestimate early myocardial changes in dogs with CMTs. This communication highlights the feasibility of integrating deformation imaging with exploratory analytical approaches and provides a basis for future large-scale, validated studies in veterinary cardio-oncology.

HCM is the most prevalent cardiac disease in cats and is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality. Among its complications, FATE represents a major adverse clinical outcome. Conventional echocardiographic indices typically assess atrial or ventricular parameters separately and may not fully capture the structural relationship between the LA and LV. The left atrioventricular coupling index (LACI) is a volumetric ratio that combines LA remodeling and LV chamber size at end-diastole into a single structural index. This retrospective, cross-sectional observational study included 91 cats, classified according to ACVIM guidelines into healthy controls (n = 33), asymptomatic HCM (stage B1, n = 14; stage B2, n = 16), symptomatic HCM (stage C, n = 15), and cats with FATE (n = 13). Conventional and two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography were performed, and LACI-ED was calculated as the ratio of LA end-diastolic volume to LV end-diastolic volume. LACI-ED increased progressively with disease severity (p < 0.001), showing the highest values in symptomatic HCM and FATE cases. It correlated positively with LA size and volume (p < 0.01) and inversely with LV GLS (p < 0.01). Exploratory ROC analysis for FATE status yielded limited discriminatory performance for LACI-ED > 150% (AUC = 0.575; 95% CI: 0.402–0.736; sensitivity 46.2%; specificity 84.4%). Although LACI-ED > 150% was associated with higher odds of prevalent FATE (OR = 4.65; 95% CI: 1.405–29.215; p = 0.020), this finding should be interpreted with caution. Pairwise comparisons of ROC curve areas between LACI-ED and conventional echocardiographic parameters (LA/Ao ratio, LA diameter, and LV GLS) revealed no statistically significant differences (all p > 0.05). Although LACI-ED > 150% was associated with higher odds of prevalent FATE (OR = 6.8; p < 0.05), this finding should be interpreted with caution. This cross-sectional study evaluates associations with disease stage and thromboembolic status at the time of examination. The findings suggest that LACI-ED reflects disease severity in feline HCM, whereas its utility for thromboembolic risk assessment appears limited.

Objectives: Left atrial reservoir strain (LA S_R), assessed by two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (2D-STE), reflects left atrial (LA) function and may reveal subtle alterations in LA mechanics in cats with American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM) stage B1 hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) compared with healthy cats. This study aimed to determine whether LA S_R differs between cats with HCM (stage B1) and healthy cats using 2D-STE. Methods: Sixty-one client-owned cats were retrospectively identified and included from medical databases. These cats were classified as healthy controls (Stage A; n=30) or preclinical HCM (Stage B1; n=31) according to ACVIM consensus guidelines. All cats underwent a comprehensive conventional echocardiographic examination, including two-dimensional, M-mode, color Doppler, pulsed-wave Doppler, and tissue Doppler imaging, as part of clinical care or screening protocols. Conventional two-dimensional assessment of LA size and function included the LA/Ao ratio, LA diameter, LA area, LA fractional shortening (LA FS), and LA ejection fraction (LA EF). LA S_R was subsequently measured offline using automated function imaging software. Reproducibility was assessed via intra- and inter-observer intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to compare the discriminatory performance of LA S_R and the evaluated LA variables between the predefined study groups. Results: Cats with ACVIM stage B1 HCM had significantly lower LA S_R than healthy controls (19.0% [IQR, 14.5–22.0%] vs 38.0% [IQR, 30.25–42.50%], respectively; P < 0.001). LA S_R reproducibility was high with an intra-observer ICC of 0.974 and an inter-observer ICC of 0.894. Conclusions and relevance: Assessment of LA S_R was feasible in cats with stage B1 HCM. LA S_R values differed between affected cats and healthy controls, with lower values observed in the affected group and good reproducibility. These findings suggest that LA S_R may provide complementary information on LA function in cats with this stage of disease.