Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging Detects Myocardial Abnormalities in Naturally Infected Dogs with Chronic Asymptomatic Chagas Disease

Overview

Journal Animals (Basel)

Date 2023 Apr 28

PMID 37106957

Authors

Derek J Matthews

Ryan C Fries

Nicholas D Jeffery

Sarah A Hamer

Ashley B Saunders

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

infection causes inflammation and fibrosis, resulting in cardiac damage in dogs. The objectives of this study were to describe cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) in naturally infected dogs with chronic Chagas disease and the frequency of abnormalities for CMR and cardiac diagnostic tests. Ten asymptomatic, client-owned dogs seropositive for were prospectively enrolled in an observational study evaluating echocardiography, ECG (standard and ambulatory), cardiac troponin I (cTnI), and CMR. Standard ECG measurements (3/10) and cTnI concentration (1/10) outside the reference range were uncommon. Ambulatory ECG abnormalities were documented more frequently (6/10 dogs) than with standard ECG and included ventricular arrhythmias (4), supraventricular premature beats (3), second-degree atrioventricular block (2), and sinus arrest (1). Echocardiographic abnormalities were documented in 6/10 dogs including mildly increased left ventricular internal dimension in diastole (1) and decreased right ventricular (RV) systolic function based on reductions in tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (3) and RV S' (4). Abnormalities were detected with CMR in 7/10 dogs including delayed myocardial enhancement in 5 of which 2 also had increased extracellular volume, abnormal wall motion in 5, and loss of apical compact myocardium in 1. In conclusion, CMR abnormalities were common, and the results of this study suggest CMR can provide useful information in dogs with infection and may support naturally infected dogs for future clinical investigation as an animal model for Chagas disease.

References

Reinero C, Visser L, Kellihan H, Masseau I, Rozanski E, Clercx C . ACVIM consensus statement guidelines for the diagnosis, classification, treatment, and monitoring of pulmonary hypertension in dogs. J Vet Intern Med. 2020; 34(2):549-573. PMC: 7097566. DOI: 10.1111/jvim.15725. View

Andrade Z, Andrade S, Sadigursky M . Damage and healing in the conducting tissue of the heart (an experimental study in dogs infected with Trypanosoma cruzi). J Pathol. 1984; 143(2):93-101. DOI: 10.1002/path.1711430204. View

Visser L, Scansen B, Brown N, Schober K, Bonagura J . Echocardiographic assessment of right ventricular systolic function in conscious healthy dogs following a single dose of pimobendan versus atenolol. J Vet Cardiol. 2015; 17(3):161-72. DOI: 10.1016/j.jvc.2015.04.001. View

Rassi Jr A, Rassi A, Rezende J . American trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease). Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2012; 26(2):275-91. DOI: 10.1016/j.idc.2012.03.002. View

Bocchi E, Kalil R, Bacal F, Higuchi M, Meneghetti C, Magalhaes A . Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Chronic Chagas' Disease: Correlation with Endomyocardial Biopsy Findings and Gallium-67 Cardiac Uptake. Echocardiography. 2001; 15(3):279-288. DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-8175.1998.tb00608.x. View

Appadurai V, Thomas J . Detecting Scar in Echocardiography: Has the Power Shifted?. J Am Soc Echocardiogr. 2022; 35(11):1156-1158. DOI: 10.1016/j.echo.2022.09.001. View

Clark W, Winter R, Aarnes T, Green E, Mikrut K, Ruz P . Utility of cardiac MRI to diagnose myocardial ischemia and fibrosis in dogs with cardiomegaly secondary to myxomatous mitral valve disease. Am J Vet Res. 2022; 83(10). DOI: 10.2460/ajvr.22.05.0076. View

Visser L, Ciccozzi M, Sintov D, Sharpe A . Echocardiographic quantitation of left heart size and function in 122 healthy dogs: A prospective study proposing reference intervals and assessing repeatability. J Vet Intern Med. 2019; 33(5):1909-1920. PMC: 6766555. DOI: 10.1111/jvim.15562. View

Uellendahl M, Siqueira M, Calado E, Kalil-Filho R, Sobral D, Ribeiro C . Cardiac Magnetic Resonance-Verified Myocardial Fibrosis in Chagas Disease: Clinical Correlates and Risk Stratification. Arq Bras Cardiol. 2016; 107(5):460-466. PMC: 5137391. DOI: 10.5935/abc.20160168. View

10.

Cunningham S, Aona B, Antoon K, Rush J, Barton B . Echocardiographic assessment of right ventricular systolic function in Boxers with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. J Vet Cardiol. 2018; 20(5):343-353. DOI: 10.1016/j.jvc.2018.07.005. View

11.

Winter R, Saunders A, Gordon S, Miller M, Sykes K, Suchodolski J . Analytical validation and clinical evaluation of a commercially available high-sensitivity immunoassay for the measurement of troponin I in humans for use in dogs. J Vet Cardiol. 2014; 16(2):81-9. DOI: 10.1016/j.jvc.2014.03.002. View

12.

Cornell C, Kittleson M, Della Torre P, Haggstrom J, Lombard C, Pedersen H . Allometric scaling of M-mode cardiac measurements in normal adult dogs. J Vet Intern Med. 2004; 18(3):311-21. DOI: 10.1892/0891-6640(2004)18<311:asomcm>2.0.co;2. View

13.

Rishniw M, Erb H . Evaluation of four 2-dimensional echocardiographic methods of assessing left atrial size in dogs. J Vet Intern Med. 2000; 14(4):429-35. DOI: 10.1892/0891-6640(2000)014<0429:eofemo>2.3.co;2. View

14.

Regueiro A, Garcia-Alvarez A, Sitges M, Ortiz-Perez J, De Caralt M, Pinazo M . Myocardial involvement in Chagas disease: insights from cardiac magnetic resonance. Int J Cardiol. 2011; 165(1):107-12. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijcard.2011.07.089. View

15.

Gentile-Solomon J, Abbott J . Conventional echocardiographic assessment of the canine right heart: reference intervals and repeatability. J Vet Cardiol. 2016; 18(3):234-247. DOI: 10.1016/j.jvc.2016.05.002. View

16.

Vitt J, Saunders A, OBrien M, Mansell J, Ajithdoss D, Hamer S . Diagnostic Features of Acute Chagas Myocarditis with Sudden Death in a Family of Boxer Dogs. J Vet Intern Med. 2016; 30(4):1210-5. PMC: 5084738. DOI: 10.1111/jvim.13967. View

17.

Barr S, Schmidt S, Brown C, Klei T . Pathologic features of dogs inoculated with North American Trypanosoma cruzi isolates. Am J Vet Res. 1991; 52(12):2033-9. View

18.

Moreira H, Volpe G, Marin-Neto J, Nwabuo C, Ambale-Venkatesh B, Gali L . Right Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction in Chagas Disease Defined by Speckle-Tracking Echocardiography: A Comparative Study with Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging. J Am Soc Echocardiogr. 2017; 30(5):493-502. DOI: 10.1016/j.echo.2017.01.010. View

19.

Malcolm E, Saunders A, Vitt J, Boutet B, Hamer S . Antiparasitic treatment with itraconazole and amiodarone in 2 dogs with severe, symptomatic Chagas cardiomyopathy. J Vet Intern Med. 2022; 36(3):1100-1105. PMC: 9151465. DOI: 10.1111/jvim.16422. View

20.

Rassi Jr A, Rassi S, Rassi A . Sudden death in Chagas' disease. Arq Bras Cardiol. 2001; 76(1):75-96. DOI: 10.1590/s0066-782x2001000100008. View