Ultrasonographic measurement of flow-mediated vasodilation in dogs with chronic valvular disease

Objectives: To measure flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) in healthy dogs and in client-owned dogs with chronic valvular disease (CVD) and to investigate possible correlations between markers of CVD severity and FMD. Animals: Twelve dogs with CVD and 11 healthy weight-matched dogs. Methods: Brachial artery FMD following 5 min inflation of a cuff around the antebrachium was measured in 12 dogs with CVD and 11 healthy weight-matched dogs. Measurements were also obtained in the healthy dogs 5 min after cuff placement but without inflation ('sham cuff placement'). Dogs with CVD underwent echocardiography to confirm and characterize their disease. Results: In healthy dogs (median age 4 [2-6] years), median FMD was 7.7% versus 3.4% with sham cuff placement (P = 0.003). In dogs with CVD (median age 8 [4-16] years) median FMD was 5.5% versus 7.7% in healthy dogs (P = 0.131). FMD showed an inverse correlation with left ventricular end-diastolic diameter normalized for body weight (r = 0.76, P = 0.0043). Conclusions: Brachial FMD in dogs with early CVD inversely correlates with severity of left ventricular remodelling. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.