My cat was diagnosed with HCM about 3 days ago 24 nov, she’s only 11 months old. She was always healthy, never got sick, and never even vomited-just a perfectly healthy cat. We rushed her to the vet emergency due to shortness of breath 80-100 Breath per min . That’s when we were told her heart size is 2.5, while the normal size is 1.5. We were also informed that she had fluid in her lungs and a heart murmur. She was desexed on October 13 and had an infection/inflammation in her wound because she wouldn’t stop licking, so we had to put her on antibiotics for 1 week. Being devastated by the HCM diagnosis, I’ve been doing my research and came across some information that makes me feel I need to get a second opinion, especially since my cat has always been healthy and never had any heart-related health issues.
Моему коту поставили диагноз HCM. Дали прогноз 6 месяцев после отека легкий. Кот прожил уже 10. Каждый день ходит гулять на поводке по несколько часов. В январе пойду перепроверять диагноз в UC Davis
Thank you for the really useful information. In particular, cTni test rather than pro-BNP seemed to be preferred for TMT diagnosis, and I was curious about the reason. However, since the presumed cause of TMT in the video is myocarditis, I think cTni, an indicator of myocardial damage, may be more useful.
You're absolutely right. cTnI is an excellent marker for myocardial injury because its increase and duration are proportional to the severity of the damage. In cases of myocarditis, which is the suspected cause of TMT, we often see the highest elevations of cTnI. NT-proBNP, on the other hand, is secreted in response to volume expansion or pressure overload in the heart. While it's a valuable biomarker for diagnosing congestive heart failure, screening for occult disease, and assessing the overall severity of heart disease, it may not be as specific for detecting the myocardial damage caused by myocarditis. Considering that myocarditis is the likely underlying cause of TMT, measuring cTnI levels would provide more relevant information about the extent of myocardial injury, which is the primary pathological process in myocarditis-induced TMT.
I took my 1.5 years old sphynx cat to two different vet cardiologist about 2 weeks between the consultation.After the first consultation he was diagnosed with equivocal hcm(grey zone,heart muscle about 5.5 mm).After the second consultation the other vet said that the cat’s heart is completely normal with a heart muscle thickness about 4.7 mm.I am even more confused now.
Dear @ancaandreea9859, Thank you for sharing your experience. I understand how confusing it can be to receive different results, especially for a condition like HCM, where diagnostic gray zones exist. If your Sphynx had no clinical signs and the echocardiogram was done as a precaution due to the breed’s predisposition, it’s worth noting that transient myocardial thickening is usually seen in sick or symptomatic cats during an echo exam. If your cat was healthy during both exams, this makes transient thickening less likely and could suggest normal variability in measurements or interpretation between cardiologists. To address the discrepancy, you might consider: 1. Reaching out to both cardiologists - They may offer insight into why their interpretations differed. 2. Monitoring your cat closely for any changes in behavior, energy levels, or other signs that could indicate a cardiac issue. 3. Requesting a reevaluation in a few months if your cat remains asymptomatic. Follow-up imaging can help determine if there’s any progression or all measurements remain normal (< or = 5 mm)
Do you ever see clots form in TMT? My cat had an episode of FATE but with only signs of mild heart failure (mild pulmonary edema) at time of episode, and on subsequent echo 6 months later, she had a small vsd and mild atrial enlargement only. I'm wondering if she could've had TMT that caused the thromboembolic event (did have stressful events in month prior to the FATE event--I had gone for vacation for 2 weeks and she had some separation anxiety as this was my first time leaving her in her 3 years with me, followed by a stressful vet visit where she was quite tachy). She hasn't had any HF exacerbations as far I know (i monitor her RR daily and weight as well), and she has recovered from her FATE episode beautifully with plavix and home PT (went from 2 cold paralyzed legs to 1 leg with paresis and now both legs functioning normally), and is currently only on plavix.
Thank you for your question and I am glad that your cat is doing better! Yes, there is a possibility of FATE development in cats with TMT, especially if there is moderate to severe left atrial enlargement at the time of TMT diagnosis. As TMT resolves, and left atrium gets smaller, the risk of FATE goes down significantly. Also, it is important to remember that FATE may develop in cats without any heart disease or other underlying conditions. This is rare, but may occur in
@@vetemcrit thank you so much for your response. The other thing I was wondering is if she could possibly have paroxysmal Afib as the etiology for the clot she threw (I'm a human EM doc)--in people, we usually do holter monitoring. Is there something similar that could be done for cats to see if they have arrhythmias and need to be on a beta blocker?
@@Jcarp_88 , sorry I missed your question. Yes, Holter monitoring can be done in dogs and cats, however Afib is very rare in cats. Usually, it is caused by severe left atrial enlargement secondary to an underlying cardiomyopathy or congenital heart defect (e.g. mitral valve stenosis, etc).
My 4 year old cat has been diagnosed with HCM 2 weeks ago. Now on 3 different medications 6 times a day. They said they are hoping it’s TMT due to his age but something tells me it isn’t. He has been admitted twice and put on oxygen within the last 2 weeks. I’m so scared and don’t know what im doing or what’s normal for him now.
Dear @lu-wz1fk, I am very sorry to hear about your cat's diagnosis. I hope this is TMT, but the only way to figure it out is to provide supportive care and recheck echocardiography later.
Hi, I’ve read over the study that you refer to, but I would love if you have any more information and to start up a dialogue with you if you have a way of contact.
Thank you for your question! There is no specific treatment unless you identified an infectious cause of TMT (e.g. bartonella). Other than that, you will need to treat a cat supportively for congestive heart failure with diuretics (only if CHF is present) and antithrombotics (e.g. clopidogrel if there is a big left atrium and/or spontaneous echogenic contrast) similar to a regular HCM cat. Plus, frequent monitoring. In theory, if that was a true TMT and the cat survived it, the cardiac structures should return to normal and all medications can be discontinued. You can read more about TMT in this blog post and papers that it is referring to - vetemcrit.com/do-all-cats-with-hcm-have-hcm/
My cat was diagnosed with HCM about 3 days ago 24 nov, she’s only 11 months old. She was always healthy, never got sick, and never even vomited-just a perfectly healthy cat. We rushed her to the vet emergency due to shortness of breath 80-100 Breath per min . That’s when we were told her heart size is 2.5, while the normal size is 1.5. We were also informed that she had fluid in her lungs and a heart murmur. She was desexed on October 13 and had an infection/inflammation in her wound because she wouldn’t stop licking, so we had to put her on antibiotics for 1 week. Being devastated by the HCM diagnosis, I’ve been doing my research and came across some information that makes me feel I need to get a second opinion, especially since my cat has always been healthy and never had any heart-related health issues.
FREE Cardiogenic pulmonary edema cheat sheet [PDF] can be downloaded here: academy.vetemcrit.com/CHFcheatsheet
Моему коту поставили диагноз HCM. Дали прогноз 6 месяцев после отека легкий. Кот прожил уже 10. Каждый день ходит гулять на поводке по несколько часов. В январе пойду перепроверять диагноз в UC Davis
Hi there,could you tell me the treatment that is takes?
Thank
@@ΓεωργιοςΝικολινας Torsemide, Clopidogrel, xarelto, Pimobendan
Thank you for the really useful information.
In particular, cTni test rather than pro-BNP seemed to be preferred for TMT diagnosis, and I was curious about the reason. However, since the presumed cause of TMT in the video is myocarditis, I think cTni, an indicator of myocardial damage, may be more useful.
You're absolutely right. cTnI is an excellent marker for myocardial injury because its increase and duration are proportional to the severity of the damage. In cases of myocarditis, which is the suspected cause of TMT, we often see the highest elevations of cTnI.
NT-proBNP, on the other hand, is secreted in response to volume expansion or pressure overload in the heart. While it's a valuable biomarker for diagnosing congestive heart failure, screening for occult disease, and assessing the overall severity of heart disease, it may not be as specific for detecting the myocardial damage caused by myocarditis.
Considering that myocarditis is the likely underlying cause of TMT, measuring cTnI levels would provide more relevant information about the extent of myocardial injury, which is the primary pathological process in myocarditis-induced TMT.
@@vetemcrit Thank you so much for your kind response. If I have any questions, I will ask them in the comments.
Ради бога, только не бросай это дело!) В янлексе появилась функция перевода и озвучки видосов с субтитрами, так что гуляем!))
I took my 1.5 years old sphynx cat to two different vet cardiologist about 2 weeks between the consultation.After the first consultation he was diagnosed with equivocal hcm(grey zone,heart muscle about 5.5 mm).After the second consultation the other vet said that the cat’s heart is completely normal with a heart muscle thickness about 4.7 mm.I am even more confused now.
Dear @ancaandreea9859, Thank you for sharing your experience. I understand how confusing it can be to receive different results, especially for a condition like HCM, where diagnostic gray zones exist.
If your Sphynx had no clinical signs and the echocardiogram was done as a precaution due to the breed’s predisposition, it’s worth noting that transient myocardial thickening is usually seen in sick or symptomatic cats during an echo exam. If your cat was healthy during both exams, this makes transient thickening less likely and could suggest normal variability in measurements or interpretation between cardiologists.
To address the discrepancy, you might consider:
1. Reaching out to both cardiologists - They may offer insight into why their interpretations differed.
2. Monitoring your cat closely for any changes in behavior, energy levels, or other signs that could indicate a cardiac issue.
3. Requesting a reevaluation in a few months if your cat remains asymptomatic. Follow-up imaging can help determine if there’s any progression or all measurements remain normal (< or = 5 mm)
Do you ever see clots form in TMT? My cat had an episode of FATE but with only signs of mild heart failure (mild pulmonary edema) at time of episode, and on subsequent echo 6 months later, she had a small vsd and mild atrial enlargement only. I'm wondering if she could've had TMT that caused the thromboembolic event (did have stressful events in month prior to the FATE event--I had gone for vacation for 2 weeks and she had some separation anxiety as this was my first time leaving her in her 3 years with me, followed by a stressful vet visit where she was quite tachy). She hasn't had any HF exacerbations as far I know (i monitor her RR daily and weight as well), and she has recovered from her FATE episode beautifully with plavix and home PT (went from 2 cold paralyzed legs to 1 leg with paresis and now both legs functioning normally), and is currently only on plavix.
Thank you for your question and I am glad that your cat is doing better! Yes, there is a possibility of FATE development in cats with TMT, especially if there is moderate to severe left atrial enlargement at the time of TMT diagnosis. As TMT resolves, and left atrium gets smaller, the risk of FATE goes down significantly. Also, it is important to remember that FATE may develop in cats without any heart disease or other underlying conditions. This is rare, but may occur in
@@vetemcrit thank you so much for your response. The other thing I was wondering is if she could possibly have paroxysmal Afib as the etiology for the clot she threw (I'm a human EM doc)--in people, we usually do holter monitoring. Is there something similar that could be done for cats to see if they have arrhythmias and need to be on a beta blocker?
Hey! Was your cat diagnosed with HCM?
@@nine9092 no, she had only a small vsd, which makes me think she had TMT that resolved.
@@Jcarp_88 , sorry I missed your question. Yes, Holter monitoring can be done in dogs and cats, however Afib is very rare in cats. Usually, it is caused by severe left atrial enlargement secondary to an underlying cardiomyopathy or congenital heart defect (e.g. mitral valve stenosis, etc).
FREE RACE-Approved Online Training for Veterinarians: academy.vetemcrit.com/iv-potassium
My 4 year old cat has been diagnosed with HCM 2 weeks ago. Now on 3 different medications 6 times a day. They said they are hoping it’s TMT due to his age but something tells me it isn’t. He has been admitted twice and put on oxygen within the last 2 weeks. I’m so scared and don’t know what im doing or what’s normal for him now.
Dear @lu-wz1fk, I am very sorry to hear about your cat's diagnosis. I hope this is TMT, but the only way to figure it out is to provide supportive care and recheck echocardiography later.
Hi, I’ve read over the study that you refer to, but I would love if you have any more information and to start up a dialogue with you if you have a way of contact.
Sure! vetemcrit.com/contact/
@@vetemcrit thank you so much, I sent you an email. Looking forward to hearing from you.
What treatment do you recommend for TMT ?
Thank you for your question! There is no specific treatment unless you identified an infectious cause of TMT (e.g. bartonella). Other than that, you will need to treat a cat supportively for congestive heart failure with diuretics (only if CHF is present) and antithrombotics (e.g. clopidogrel if there is a big left atrium and/or spontaneous echogenic contrast) similar to a regular HCM cat. Plus, frequent monitoring. In theory, if that was a true TMT and the cat survived it, the cardiac structures should return to normal and all medications can be discontinued. You can read more about TMT in this blog post and papers that it is referring to - vetemcrit.com/do-all-cats-with-hcm-have-hcm/
Cronin Locks
❤
Thank you!