title: Heart rate and arrhythmia frequency of normal cats compared to cats with asymptomatic hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare heart rate and arrhythmia frequency and complexity in a normal population of cats to a population of cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).
  
  
  METHODS
  17 cats with HCM and 15 cats with normal echocardiograms.
  
  
  METHODS
  Results for echocardiography, electrocardiography, Doppler blood pressure, and 24-h Holter monitoring were compared between groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no difference in heart rate between HCM cats and normal cats regardless of modality used. All (17/17) HCM cats had ventricular arrhythmias (geometric mean 124 complexes/24 h) with 82% (14/17) exhibiting complex arrhythmias (couplets, triplets, or ventricular tachycardia). Most (14/15) normal cats had ventricular arrhythmias (geometric mean 4 complexes/24 h), but only 20% (3/15) exhibited complexity. HCM cats had significantly more total ventricular complexes, ventricular premature complexes and accelerated idioventricular rhythm than normal cats (P < 0.0001, P < 0.0001, and P = 0.01, respectively). Eighty eight percent (15/17) of HCM cats had supraventricular arrhythmias (geometric mean 9 complexes/24 h) with 23% (4/17) exhibiting complexity. Sixty percent (9/15) of normal cats had supraventricular arrhythmias (geometric mean 1 complex/24 h) with 13% (2/15) exhibiting complexity. Cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy had significantly more supraventricular complexes than normal cats (P = 0.0148).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cats with asymptomatic HCM have more frequent and complex ventricular and supraventricular arrhythmias than normal cats but do not have different overall heart rates compared to normal cats. Further studies are needed to determine if these arrhythmias are associated with an increased risk of sudden cardiac death or influence long-term survival.
authors.affiliation: MedVet Medical & Cancer Centers for Pets, 300 East Wilson Bridge Rd, Worthington, OH 43085, USA. Electronic address: bethanyjacksondvm@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Bethany L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.affiliation: MedVet Medical & Cancer Centers for Pets, 300 East Wilson Bridge Rd, Worthington, OH 43085, USA.
authors.forename: Linda B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Lehmkuhl
authors.affiliation: MedVet Medical & Cancer Centers for Pets, 300 East Wilson Bridge Rd, Worthington, OH 43085, USA.
authors.forename: Darcy B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Adin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000209:etiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000662:veterinary; D002312:Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic / Q000150:complications / Q000662:veterinary*; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D002415:Cats; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000662:veterinary; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000662:veterinary; D015716:Electrocardiography, Ambulatory / Q000662:veterinary; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male
keywords: Feline; HCM; Holter monitor; Supraventricular; Ventricular