Cardiac abnormalities encountered in veterinary echocardiography

Mark Overend, an RCVS advanced practitioner in small animal veterinary cardiology, runs a travelling cardiology referral service for more than 50 practices in his area. He delivers echocardiography training to vets nationally and internationally, and acts as a consultant to ultrasound manufacturers. His experience provides a unique vantage point from which to explore the parallels and some differences between human and veterinary cardiac ultrasound.

For human sonographers and radiologists, many of the core echo principles will feel familiar: chamber quantification, Doppler haemodynamics, strain imaging. Diseases encountered may also have some commonality. However, veterinary echocardiography demands a level of adaptability that is unique to the field. Examinations are performed without breath-holds, often without sedation, and across a range of patient sizes and thoracic conformations.

This article outlines some of the shared foundations between human and veterinary echocardiography while briefly highlighting some typical clinical cases and nuances of small animal cardiac ultrasound.

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