Evaluation of serum cardiac troponin I concentration in Boxers with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate serum cardiac troponin I (cTnI) concentrations in Boxers with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), unaffected (control) Boxers, and control non-Boxers.


METHODS
10 Boxers with a clinical diagnosis of ARVC defined by > or = 1,000 ventricular premature complexes (VPCs)/24 h on an ambulatory ECG, 10 control Boxers assessed as normal by the presence of < 5 VPCs/24h, and 10 control non-Boxers.


METHODS
Serum was extracted from a blood sample from each dog. Analysis of serum cTnI concentrations was performed.


RESULTS
Mean +/- SD serum cTnI concentration was 0.142 +/- 0.05 ng/mL for Boxers with ARVC, 0.079 +/- 0.03 ng/mL for control Boxers, and 0.023 +/- 0.01 ng/mL for control non-Boxers. A significant difference in serum cTnI concentrations was observed among the 3 groups. In the combined Boxer population (ie, Boxers with ARVC and control Boxers), a significant correlation was found between serum cTnI concentration and number of VPCs/24 h (r = 0.78) and between serum cTnI concentration and grade of ventricular arrhythmia (r = 0.77).


CONCLUSIONS
Compared with clinically normal dogs, Boxers with ARVC had a significant increase in serum cTnI concentration. For Boxers, correlations were found between serum cTnI concentration and number of VPCs/24 h and between concentration and the grade of arrhythmia. Because of the overlap in serum cTnI concentrations in control Boxers and Boxers with ARVC, future studies should evaluate the correlation of serum cTnI concentration with severity of disease in terms of degree of myocardial fibrofatty changes.
Baumwart
Ryan D
RD
Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
Orvalho
João
J
Meurs
Kathryn M
KM
D000818:Animals; D019571:Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism / Q000662:veterinary*; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D019210:Troponin I / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics
D019210:Troponin I