Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Nov;17(11):2635-2643.
doi: 10.14202/vetworld.2024.2635-2643. Epub 2024 Nov 25.

Effects of dog cardiac orientation on vertebral heart score measurements in different thoracic types

Suphat Soeratanapant  1 , Somchin Sutthigran  1 , Phasamon Saisawart  1 , Nardtiwa Chaivoravitsakul  2 , Kongthit Horoongruang  2 , Luksamee Limpongsai  2 , Artima Tantarawanich  2 , Chutimon Thanaboonnipat  1 , Kittipong Tachampa  3 , Nan Choisunirachon  1
Affiliations

Effects of dog cardiac orientation on vertebral heart score measurements in different thoracic types

Suphat Soeratanapant et al. Vet World. 2024 Nov.

Abstract

Background and aim: Computed tomographic (CT) images can elucidate the variations of cardiac orientation that this information among dog breeds has never been reported. This study aimed to explore the heart orientations of dogs with different thoracic types and study their effects on vertebral heart score (VHS) measurements using CT images.

Materials and methods: Thoracic CT images of 115 mature dogs without thoracic abnormalities were retrospectively examined. The dogs were classified into four groups: Normal Broad, Abnormal Broad, Normal, and Deep. All dogs were also classified based on their heart deviations. The VHSs were evaluated using lateral VHS, dorsal VHS, and adjusted VHS, and all were compared.

Results: In the normal broad and abnormal broad groups, the lateral VHS and lateral long-axis dimensions were significantly lower than those obtained from the dorsal and adjusted VHSs. In addition, heart deviations were mostly observed in the normal broad and abnormal broad groups. Nevertheless, little evidence was found in the normal and deep groups. The lateral VHS and lateral long-axis dimensions were significantly reduced by heart deviation more than the dorsal and adjusted VHSs.

Conclusion: Cardiac orientations among dog breeds can affect VHSs of lateral projection, especially in the broad thoracic group. Clinical evaluation of the VHS in the broad thoracic dogs should be performed on the dorsal view for more accurate measurement of heart size.

Keywords: cardiac dimension; computed tomography; dog; heart orientation; thoracic cage.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure-1
Figure-1
Soft-tissue window of pre-contrast enhancement. (a) Sagittal and (b) dorsal computed tomographic images of dog thorax show the technique used to measure (a) thoracic depth and (b) thoracic width.
Figure-2
Figure-2
Bone window of pre-contrast enhancement. The sagittal computed tomographic images of the dog thorax show the characteristics of the thoracic vertebrae in broad thoracic dogs, which are (a) normal vertebrae and (b) abnormal vertebrae.
Figure-3
Figure-3
Soft-tissue window of pre-contrast enhancement, transverse computed tomographic images of the dog thorax show the location of the cardiac apex that were categorized as 0, –1, and –2. (a) The heart axes were recorded as 0 if a position of the heart apex was on the sternum (asterisk), (b) the heart apex was recorded as –1 if a position of the heart apex diverted from the sternum (asterisk) but not diverted over the costochondral junction, and (c) the heart apex was recorded as –2 if a position of the heart apex diverted from the sternum (asterisk) and over the costochondral junction.
Figure-4
Figure-4
Soft-tissue window of pre-contrast enhancement, transverse computed tomographic images of the dog thorax showing grade 2 of heart deviation into either (a) the left side or (b) the right side compared with the sternum (asterisks). Ao indicates the descending aorta.
Figure-5
Figure-5
Soft tissue of pre-contrast enhancement. (a) Sagittal and (b) dorsal computed tomographic images of dog thorax show the technique used to measure (a) the lateral cardiac long (L) and short (S) cardiac axes and (b) the dorsal long (L) and short (S) cardiac axes.
Figure-6
Figure-6
(a-c) Soft-tissue window of pre-contrast enhancement. The multiplanar reconstruction computed tomographic images of dog thorax show the technique used to measure the adjusted cardiac long (L) and short (S) axes on thoracic computed tomography images.
Figure-7
Figure-7
Percentage of dogs among groups of the normal board, abnormal board, normal, and deep groups that had the deviation of the heart apex as grades 0, −1, and −2.
Figure-8
Figure-8
Soft-tissue window of pre-contrast enhancement. The multiplanar reconstruction computed tomographic images of dog thorax with different thoracic types (a–c) are the broad thoracic type, (d–f) are the normal thoracic type, and (g–i) are the deep thoracic type. The red and yellow lines represent the heart orientation at the carina level and the actual apex on the transverse plane. The red and yellow arrowheads indicate the cardiac apex related to the red line and the yellow arrowhead indicates the cardiac apex related to the yellow line. Asterisks indicate sternum.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Keene B.W, Atkins C.E, Bonagura J.D, Fox P.R, Häggström J, Fuentes V.L, Oyama M.A, Rush J.E, Stepien R, Uechi M. ACVIM consensus guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of myxomatous mitral valve disease in dogs. J. Vet. Intern. Med. 2019;33(3):1127–1140. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Buchanan J.W. Chronic valvular disease (endocardiosis) in dogs. Adv. Vet. Sci. Comp. Med. 1977;21:75–106. - PubMed
    1. Borgarelli M, Crosara S, Lamb K, Savarino P, La Rosa G, Tarducci A, Haggstrom J. Survival characteristics and prognostic variables of dogs with preclinical chronic degenerative mitral valve disease attributable to myxomatous degeneration. J. Vet. Intern. Med. 2012;26(1):69–75. - PubMed
    1. Atkins C.E, Keene B.W, Brown W.A, Coats J.R, Crawford M.A, DeFrancesco T.C, Edwards N.J, Fox P.R, Lehmkuhl L.B, Luethy M.W, Meurs K.M, Petrie J.P, Pipers F.S, Rosenthal S.L, Sidley J.A, Straus J.H. Results of the veterinary enalapril trial to prove reduction in onset of heart failure in dogs chronically treated with enalapril alone for compensated, naturally occurring mitral valve insufficiency. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 2007;231(7):1061–1069. - PubMed
    1. Buchanan J.W. Vertebral scale system to measure heart size in radiographs. Vet. Clin. North. Am. Small. Anim. Pract. 2000;30(2):379–393, vii. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources