J Vet Intern Med. 2026 Sep 1;40(5):aalag242. doi: 10.1093/jvimsj/aalag242.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in Doberman Pinschers (DPs) often initially manifests as ventricular arrhythmias (stage B1) without echocardiographic evidence of cardiac remodeling (stage B2). Global longitudinal strain (GLS) is a sensitive echocardiographic variable for detecting early systolic dysfunction.
HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: To assess whether GLS detects systolic dysfunction in DPs with arrhythmogenic stage B1 and to evaluate the association between arrhythmic burden and GLS.
ANIMALS: Sixty-three DPs with arrhythmogenic stage B1 DCM and 63 control DPs.
METHODS: Retrospective case-control study. Stage B1 was defined as ≥300 ventricular premature complexes (VPCs) within 24 h or >50 VPCs on two 24-h Holter recordings within 1 year, with otherwise normal echocardiographic measurements. Forty-three dogs had "last-normal" (LN) examinations 6-12 months before arrhythmia onset. GLS was measured using 2-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE) from left apical 2-, 3-, and 4-chamber views. Stage B1 dogs were subclassified into low-grade (LGvpc) and high-grade (HGvpc) groups based on arrhythmic burden.
RESULTS: GLS was lower in stage B1 dogs (mean ± SD, -16.80% ± 2.71%) compared to controls (-20.22% ± 1.90%; P = .044). Stage B1 dogs had lower GLS compared to their LN examinations (mean difference, -2.45%; 95% CI, -3.67% to -1.24%; P < .001). Dogs in the HGvpc group had lower GLS (-15.45% ± 2.79%) than LGvpc dogs (-18.39% ± 1.51%; mean difference, -2.94%; 95% CI, -4.28% to -1.60%; P < .001).
CONCLUSIONS: GLS detects systolic dysfunction in DPs with arrhythmogenic stage B1 DCM despite normal conventional echocardiographic measurements. Higher arrhythmic burden is associated with more severe systolic dysfunction.
PMID:42858360 | DOI:10.1093/jvimsj/aalag242