Referrals - Cardiology
 Cardiology is that branch of veterinary medicine concerned with diagnosis and management of heart disease. It is a common problem in dogs and, to a lesser extent, in cats. Heart disease may be suspected by the veterinary surgeon because of symptoms being displayed by the pet; or it may be an incidental finding, such as the identification of a heart murmur in an otherwise well animal. Cardiology utilises information obtained in a number of ways about our patients:
1. Clinical history - which is what you, the owner, tell us about the problem. This will include details of relevant symptoms, their duration, response to any previous treatment etc.
2. Clinical examination - what we discover in the consulting room as we examine the patient. We will usually look inside the lips to assess gum colour, listen to the heart and breathing with a stethoscope, assess the pulse and so on.
Depending on the case, further investigation may be considered appropriate. Usually the pet will be admitted to the Hospital for part of the day in order to undertake any or all of the following:
3. ECG - an electrical recording of cardiac activity yielding information primarily about heart rate and rhythm.
4. X-rays - usually requiring a degree of sedation, chest x-rays form a crucial part of many cardiac investigations.
5. Ultrasound (echocardiography) - which enables us to peer inside the chambers of the heart (in a manner of speaking), allowing visualisation of the heart in motion; again a crucial part of many cardiac investigations, and usually essential for assessing heart disease in the cat.
A treatment plan will be formulated once a diagnosis has been obtained, in those patients requiring it. There are many potent drugs now available for veterinary use and the management of heart disease can be very rewarding. However it should be emphasised that many conditions can only be managed, rather than cured. Treatment will frequently be required long-term in these patients.
Stephen O’Shea MA VetMB CertVC MRCVS has a special interest in cardiology. He obtained the RCVS Certificate in Veterinary Cardiology in 1997, and sees most cardiac cases within the Veterinary Hospital Group which undergo diagnostic work. Such cases will frequently be identified by one of our veterinary surgeons and referred for assessment. This will usually begin with a clinical examination; those cases requiring diagnostic tests will then be admitted to the Hospital. These patients will often require a degree of sedation in order to complete the x-ray study, in particular, but we would hope to complete the tests within a few hours at most.
As a rule, we can offer to investigate most types of "acquired" (i.e. adult-onset) heart disease in dogs and cats - this forms the huge bulk of the cases we see. However we are limited in what we can offer for those unfortunate puppies or kittens who have a "congenital" disease (i.e. a birth defect), and such cases may be offered a referral to a specialist unit.
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Cardiology