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Background: Activity of the circulating renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) has not been comprehensively characterized in cats with systemic hypertension (SH) or cardiomyopathy (CM), and the effects of furosemide or amlodipine treatment on the RAAS have not been fully evaluated in cats., Hypothesis/objectives: To document RAAS activity in cats with SH or CM compared to healthy cats and determine how RAAS profiles change with furosemide or amlodipine treatment., Animals: Sixty-six client-owned cats: 15 with SH (7 amlodipine-treated, 8 untreated), 17 with advanced CM (7 furosemide-treated, 10 not furosemide-treated), and 34 healthy cats., Methods: Equilibrium concentrations of RAAS peptides and aldosterone were quantified in serum samples by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Variables were compared between groups using Kruskal-Wallis analysis with post hoc Holms-corrected Dunn's testing., Results: Compared with healthy cats, cats with CM had higher concentrations of angiotensin I, aldosterone, and plasma renin activity (all P < .01), and these differences remained significant (P < .03) after considering subgroups of untreated or furosemide-treated cats. Compared with healthy cats, untreated cats with SH showed no differences in RAAS biomarkers, whereas amlodipine-treated cats had higher concentrations of angiotensins I, II, III, IV, and 1-7, aldosterone, and plasma renin activity (all P < .03). Multivariable analysis determined that furosemide and amlodipine treatments were independent predictors of increased RAAS biomarker concentrations., Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Cats with CM had increased RAAS activity, whereas cats with untreated SH did not. Furosemide and amlodipine both led to nonspecific activation of both classical and alternative RAAS pathways in cats., (© 2022 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.)

Background: Low vitamin D concentrations have been associated with advanced heart disease and poorer outcomes in people and dogs. Vitamin D status typically is assessed by serum 25(OH)D concentration. However, cats also produce notable amounts of a C-3 epimer of 25(OH)D (3-epi)., Hypothesis/objectives: Determine if vitamin D status, estimated by 25(OH)D 3 alone or combined with 3-epi (summation vitD), is lower in cats with cardiomyopathy (CM) compared to clinically normal (N) cats and if indicators of disease severity are associated with vitamin D status., Animals: Privately owned cats, 44 with CM and 56 N., Methods: Cross-sectional observational study using clinical and echocardiographic findings, diet history, and serum 25(OH)D 3 and 3-epi measurements., Results: Cat age was negatively related to vitamin D status. Summation vitD was lower in CM cats (median = 47.1 ng/mL) compared to N cats (median = 58.65 ng/mL) both before (P = .03) and after (P = .04) accounting for age. However, 25(OH)D 3 became nonsignificant between CM and N cats after age was included. Summation vitD was related positively to survival time and fractional shortening (FS), but negatively to left atrial enlargement (LAE) severity, both before and after accounting for age. For 25(OH)D 3 alone, only survival time and FS remained significant after including age., Conclusions and Clinical Importance: We report 25(OH)D 3 and 3-epi concentrations in CM and N cats. Age had an important (negative) relationship to vitamin D status. After accounting for age, summation vitD was lower in CM cats. Vitamin D status was related positively to survival time and FS, but negatively to LAE severity., (© 2020 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.)

Twenty dogs with patent ductus arteriosus occluded with Hemoclips were evaluated with a mean follow-up time of 799.4 days (range, 83 to 3,580 days). Significant decreases were found between pre- and postsurgical means for vertebral heart size and for echocardiographic left atrial/aortic-root ratios and percent fractional shortening (%FS). Despite a good clinical outcome, six of 20 dogs had persistent cardiomyopathy of overload with diminished %FS (28% or less) at follow-up. One dog had residual ductal flow identified five days postoperatively. Subsequent evaluations in this case at 60, 144, 226, 344, and 560 days postoperatively demonstrated gradually diminishing ductal flow. The remaining 19 dogs did not recanalize.