title: Prospective echocardiographic and tissue Doppler screening of a large Sphynx cat population: reference ranges, heart disease prevalence and genetic aspects.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  (1) To investigate heart morphology and function using echocardiography and tissue Doppler imaging (TDI), (2) to determine heart disease prevalence and characteristics, and (3) to assess potential genetic features in a population of Sphynx cats presented for cardiovascular screening.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 147 echocardiographic examinations, including 33 follow-ups, were performed by trained observers on 114 Sphynx cats of different ages (2.62 ± 1.93 years [0.5-10.0]) from 2004 to 2011.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sphynx cats underwent a physical examination, conventional echocardiography, and, if possible, two-dimensional color TDI.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Conventional echocardiographic findings included 75/114 normal (65.8%) and 39/114 (34.2%) abnormal examinations with a diagnosis of either congenital heart diseases (n = 16) or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM, n = 23). In adult healthy cats, a significant body weight effect was observed for several echocardiographic variables, including end-diastolic left ventricular (LV) free wall (P < 0.01), interventricular septum (P < 0.001), and LV diameter (P < 0.001). Mitral valve dysplasia (MVD) was observed as a single or associated defect in 15/16 cats with congenital heart diseases. A significant increase in HCM prevalence (P < 0.001) was observed according to age. The pedigree analysis of a large family (n = 81) suggested an autosomal dominant mode of inheritance with incomplete penetrance for HCM.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Body weight should be taken into account when interpreting values of diastolic myocardial wall thicknesses in Sphynx cats. Additionally, HCM and MVD are two relatively common heart diseases in this feline breed. More pedigree data are required to confirm the inheritance pattern of HCM at the breed level.
authors.affiliation: Université Paris-Est, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, Unité de Cardiologie d'Alfort (UCA), Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vétérinaire d'Alfort (CHUVA), 7 avenue du général de Gaulle, 94704 Maisons-Alfort cedex, France. vchetboul@vet-alfort.fr
authors.forename: Valerie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Chetboul
authors.forename: Amandine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Petit
authors.forename: Vassiliki
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gouni
authors.forename: Emilie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Trehiou-Sechi
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Misbach
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Balouka
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Carlos Sampedrano
authors.forename: Jean-Louis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Pouchelon
authors.forename: Renaud
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tissier
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abitbol
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics; D002415:Cats; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D018618:Echocardiography, Doppler, Color / Q000662:veterinary; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D010375:Pedigree; D015995:Prevalence; D012016:Reference Values