The Animal Heartbeat – Details, episodes & analysis

Message our hosts, Kieran and Jose.

Horses are highly evolved athletes, with mind-bending changes to the cardiovascular system achieved during exercise. How does the spectrum of heart disease compare to that seen in dogs and cats? Join our hosts, Jose and Kieran, as they enjoy a rapid-fire review of equine cardiac disorders with Prof Colin Schwarzwald, director of the Clinic of Equine Internal Medicine at the Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich.

Message our hosts, Kieran and Jose.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) affects 1 in 7 cats overall, and has huge implications for feline health and wellbeing across the globe. Strategies to detect early disease are fundamentally important to both pet owners and cat breeders, so that individual animals and the wider breed can be cared for as needed. Screening for HCM in apparently healthy cats has become a hot topic, and who could be better to join Jose and Kieran for a discussion on that subject than Prof Jens Häggström? Jens is leader of the internationally recognised PawPeds echo screening programme, and originator of the some of the largest studies on feline disease ever published. Listen in as he shares insights into their most recent data and his opinions on how best to approach screening for early disease.

Message our hosts, Kieran and Jose.

Atrial fibrillation is a common and often debilitating arrhythmia, which can affect a heterogenous patient population. Being in atrial fibrillation reduces cardiac output significantly, and can lead to a vicious circle of tachycardia and cardiac remodelling. Join Jose and Kieran as they interview Professor Anna Gelzer, from the University of Pennsylvania in the USA, and Dr Brigite Pedro, from Centro de Cardiologia Veterinaria do Porto and Virtual Veterinary Specialists. Prof Gelzer is a world renowned expert in conduction disturbances in companion animals, and Dr Pedro has recently completed a PhD in atrial fibrillation in dogs. As part of this work, they have collaborated on landmark research into the outcome of dogs with atrial fibrillation. In this episode, results from their recent publications are shared, alongside a wealth of experience in managing dogs with this challenging condition.

Message our hosts, Kieran and Jose.

Pulmonary valve stenosis has become the most common congenital heart disease in dogs, and changes to the breeding population of dogs across the world over the last 20 years has seemingly influenced the morphology of the disease that we identify. In turn, this has posed challenges to cardiologists in terms of selecting the best diagnostic methods and approaches to treatment. In this episode, join Kieran and Jose as they interview Professor Brian Scansen from Colorado State University - interventionist, researcher, teacher and pioneer - and discuss their thoughts on the management of pulmonary valve stenosis in the 2020s.

Message our hosts, Kieran and Jose.

Dilated cardiomyopathy is a common disease in dogs, which is almost uniquely difficult to diagnose in the early stages. In this episode, Kieran and Jose interview Prof Gerhard Wess, a clinician and researcher who leads the cardiology department at the LMU University of Munich, Germany. Prof Wess brings his extensive, decades-spanning experience of diagnosing and managing DCM to the podcast and shares his advice on how best to assess potential cases.

Message our hosts, Kieran and Jose.

Dr Claudio Bussadori, inspirational veterinary specialist in cardiology and experienced human interventional cardiologist from the Clinica Veterinaria Gran Sasso in Milan, discusses aortic stenosis with Jose and Kieran. In the 23-years since he led the seminal guidelines used to assess the severity of congenital outflow tract stenosis in dogs, our understanding and approach to aortic stenosis has evolved - Dr Bussadori's unique comparative approach allows a wide-ranging discussion of this fascinating topic.

Message our hosts, Kieran and Jose.

In the first of our special guest episodes, Professor Virginia Luis Fuentes from the Royal Veterinary College, London, joins Kieran and Jose to talk about treating cardiomyopathy in cats - beyond furosemide and clopidogrel. Listen in as Prof Luis Fuentes, a world-renowned expert and thought leader in feline heart disease, describes how she approaches a variety of treatment situations in cats, and the current thinking in human and feline medicine.

Message our hosts, Kieran and Jose.

Pulmonary hypertension is a common complicating factor of heart disease in dogs, but is a cardiovascular disorder in its own right, associated with a number of primary disease processes. In this episode, Jose and Kieran discuss the diagnosis, causes and management of pulmonary hypertension in dogs.

Message our hosts, Kieran and Jose.

In the second part of their discussion on mitral valve disease prognostic indicators, Jose and Kieran talk about what echo measurements provide the most useful assessment of prognosis in stage B disease, consider whether there is a place for using cardiac biomarkers in monitoring pre-clinical dogs, and review the recent literature covering how best to predict progression in pre-clinical dogs.

Message our hosts, Kieran and Jose.

Mitral valve disease in dogs is the most common disorder encountered in veterinary cardiology. In this episode, Kieran and Jose discuss what factors could predict those dogs which are more likely to progress, what tests could be used to assess dogs with stage B mitral valve disease in primary care practice, and why the assessment of regurgitant fraction on echo may be important in decision making.