08/24/2022
This is Lady Bug! She was referred by Belton Small Animal Clinic and recently visited us to monitor her left ventricular dilation and left ventricular systolic dysfunction.
After seeing Julia Lindholm, DVM, DACVIM (Cardiology) and Kristin, Veterinary Assistant, for an exam and recheck echocardiogram, we found that Lady Bug has had some progression of her cardiac disease as a result of her having the congenital defect called Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA). PDA is the failure of a large blood vessel (ductus arteriosus) to close just after birth. In a fetus, this vessel is normal and allows blood to bypass the lungs since the lungs are not used in utero. At birth, the vessel should closes within hours, directing blood to flow into the newly inflated lungs. When the closure doesn't happen, the difference in pressure between the pulmonary artery and the aorta means that blood will take the path of least resistance and flow from the aorta through the patent ductus arteriosus into the pulmonary artery. The pulmonary artery then needlessly recirculates this oxygenated blood back to the lungs. Since less blood is now being pumped into the main circulation through the aorta with each heartbeat, the left side of the heart is forced to work harder to meet the demands of the body.
Lady Bug has been seeing us for just over a year and continues to take a cardiac medication to improve her heart's pumping function. To learn more about PDA and other cardiac diseases, head on over to our website https://hubs.li/Q01kSYqk0