BNP testing in cats with suspected cardiomyopathy
This modality provides "a great window" into the search for heart disease, says Dr. Bonnie Lefbom.
The use of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) blood testing is key to combating what Fetch dvm360 conference speaker Bonnie Lefbom, DVM, DACVIM, calls "the silent disease" in cats: hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Dr. Lefbom notes that the diagnosis of heart disease in cats (which affects 15 percent of general population) benefits from more than just attention to overt clinical signs.
Cats and cardiology
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"To find those cats, we need something more than auscultation for a murmur, or having an arrhythmia or a gallop," she says.
Identifying instances of heart disease earlier through BNP testing can shield patients from the risk of sudden death under anesthesia or fulminant heart failure, for example, Dr. Lefbom says.
Watch the video for more, including another alarming statistic that highlights the need for BNP testing to identify this silent disease.
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