Page 270 - Feline Cardiology

Chapter 19: Congestive Heart Failure 277

A

B Congestive Heart Failure

C

D E
Figure 19.12. Thoracic radiographs of a cat with pleural effusion secondary to severe tricuspid valve dysplasia.
Right lateral (A), dorsoventral (B), and ventrodorsal (C) projections of thoracic radiographs of this dyspneic 6-month old domestic
short-haired cat show severe pleural effusion. The ventrodorsal view (with the patient in dorsal recumbency) allows partial visualization
of the cardiac silhouette due to the pooling of the pleural effusion dorsally above the heart and shows severe right-sided cardiomegaly.
Radiographs after thoracocentesis and medical treatment with furosemide and enalapril show resolved pleural effusion and persistent
severe right heart enlargement (D) and (E). The caudal vena cava is severely dilated, indicating markedly elevated right atrial pressure (D).

there is cardiomegaly (normal range is 6.9–8.1, mean Conversely, another study found a much higher percent-
7.5 ± 0.3 vertebrae) (Litster and Buchanan 2000; see age (72%) of cats with subjective assessment of left atrial
Chapter 6). Using subjective assessment, left atrial dila- dilation on thoracic radiographs that had confirmed left
tion was only identified in 48% of cats with cardiogenic atrial dilation by echocardiography (Schober et al. 2007).
pulmonary edema in one study (Benigni et al. 2009). In that study, subjective assessment of left atrial size was