Echocardiographic Evaluation of Right Ventricular Function Using Two-Dimensional Echocardiographic Measurements and Pulsed Wave Doppler Ultrasound in Dogs with Myxomatous Valve Disease and Measurable Tricuspid Regurgitation

Right ventricular (RV) function plays an important role in the assessment of heart failure in dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) and measurable tricuspid regurgitation with pulmonary hypertension (PH). There is limited information about RV dysfunction in dogs with left ventricular (LV) heart failure, and the efficacy of echocardiographic parameters of RV function values in diagnosing heart failure in dogs with PH has not yet been fully understood. This study aimed to analyze the usefulness of the echocardiographic parameters of RV function in 10 dogs with MMVD and compare these parameters with those of 10 healthy beagle dogs. Compared with the healthy group, the MMVD group had a significantly greater eccentricity index, significantly lower fractional area change, and significantly lower ratio of peak velocity of the early tricuspid inflow wave to peak velocity of the late diastolic wave. Echocardiographic analysis permits a non-invasive method for evaluating the RV function in dogs with MMVD and PH.