Serum cardiac troponin I concentration in dogs with precapillary and postcapillary pulmonary hypertension.
BACKGROUND
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a disease condition leading to right-sided cardiac hypertrophy and, eventually, right-sided heart failure. Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) is a circulating biomarker of cardiac damage.


OBJECTIVE
Myocardial damage can occur in dogs with precapillary and postcapillary PH.


METHODS
One hundred and thirty-three dogs were examined: 26 healthy controls, 42 dogs with mitral valve disease (MVD) without PH, 48 dogs with pulmonary hypertension associated with mitral valve disease (PH-MVD), and 17 dogs with precapillary PH.


METHODS
Prospective, observational study. Serum cTnI concentration was measured with a commercially available immunoassay and results were compared between groups.


RESULTS
Median cTnI was 0.10 ng/mL (range 0.10-0.17 ng/mL) in healthy dogs. Compared with the healthy population, median serum cTnI concentration was increased in dogs with precapillary PH (0.25 ng/mL; range 0.10-1.9 ng/mL; P < .001) and in dogs with PH-MVD (0.21 ng/mL; range 0.10-2.10 ng/mL; P < .001). Median serum cTnI concentration of dogs with MVD (0.12 ng/mL; range 0.10-1.00 ng/mL) was not significantly different compared with control group and dogs with PH-MVD. In dogs with MVD and PH-MVD, only the subgroup with decompensated PH-MVD had significantly higher cTnI concentration compared with dogs with compensated MVD and PH-MVD. Serum cTnI concentration showed significant modest positive correlations with the calculated pulmonary artery systolic pressure in dogs with PH and some echocardiographic indices in dogs with MVD and PH-MVD.


CONCLUSIONS
Serum cTnI is high in dogs with either precapillary and postcapillary PH. Myocardial damage in dogs with postcapillary PH is likely the consequence of increased severity of MVD.
Guglielmini
C
C
Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Teramo, Teramo, Italy. cguglielmini@unite.it
Civitella
C
C
Diana
A
A
Di Tommaso
M
M
Cipone
M
M
Luciani
A
A
D000818:Animals; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000097:blood*; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D008944:Mitral Valve Insufficiency / Q000150:complications / Q000662:veterinary; D011446:Prospective Studies; D019210:Troponin I / Q000097:blood*
D019210:Troponin I