Pericardial disease in dogs almost always means pericardial effusion: fluid, usually blood, collecting in the sac around the heart. When pressure in the sac rises above the pressure that fills the right heart, the heart cannot fill and the dog develops cardiac tamponade. The treatment is mechanical (draining the sac), and the long-term outlook depends almost entirely on whether a tumour is the cause.
Key facts
Pericardial disease at a glance- Species: dog (effusion is relatively common in dogs and rare in cats).
- System: cardiovascular (pericardium).
- Main causes: cardiac neoplasia (hemangiosarcoma, heart base tumours) and idiopathic pericardial effusion; less often infection, trauma, left atrial rupture or heart failure.
- Typical patient: middle-aged, large-breed, often male dog.
- Classic presentation: ascites, weakness or collapse, muffled heart sounds, weak pulses that fade on inspiration (pulsus paradoxus) and distended jugular veins.
- Emergency treatment: pericardiocentesis, traditionally from the right side. Diuretics are contraindicated in tamponade.
- Not zoonotic and not reportable.
What's inside
12 sections in the full guide- Key facts
- How the NAVLE tests this
- Cause and pathophysiology
- Clinical signs
- Diagnosis
- Differential diagnoses
- Treatment and management
- Prevention, control and public health
- Prognosis
- Quick review
- Test yourself
- References
The full guide also has 6 tables, 3 figures, 3 self-test questions and 19 references, available to NAVLE members.
Read the full study guide
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