Back at Purina Farms again and the hike up the hill did not keep people from showing up for heart testing. Thanks to all those who helped, especially Joanne Buehner-Brown, who drew blood all day on Wednesday, Jeri and Jimmy Glynn, who showed up every morning to help with setup, fed us donuts and coffee, and helped with blood draws on Thursday and Julia Wright who helped with organizing volunteers. Can’t forget Debbie Chastain who provided us with hot lunches both days.
Then there were all the people who came up to hold dogs for people, weigh dogs, check forms, and generally help out with whatever. Jill Bryson, Jennifer Rose Baye, Barb Patterson, Miki Demeter, Karen Brinkley, Angie Bixler, Dave Berzins, and Fred Wiewel and Mary Sharkey, helping at ringside.
Of course, none of it would be possible without our dedicated cardiologists Bill Tyrrell and Steve Rosenthal.
Also, thanks very much to everyone who brought their hounds. Things went so smoothly this year with most people managing to arrive on time and let me know ahead of time if there were schedule problems.
Thanks also to the folks at Purina who set us up with a few parking spaces on a very busy week.
The statistics from 2018 are shown in Table 1, broken out by age group and sex.
Table 1: Heart Testing Results IWCA National, Purina Farms, May 2018
| Age | Male | Female | Normal EKG | Normal Echo and EKG | Abnormals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| < 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2-3 yrs | 8 | 17 | 17 | 7 | 1 |
| 3-4 yrs | 5 | 12 | 14 | 3 | |
| 4-5 yrs | 4 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 3 |
| 5-6 yrs | 3 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| 6-7 yrs | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | |
| 7-8 yrs | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||
| > 8 | 2 | 1 | |||
| Totals | 22 | 50 | 43 | 16 | 13 |
Interestingly the exact same number of dogs were tested in 2016 although in that year all dogs received both an echo and an EKG so it is not a direct comparison. The mild, degenerative valve disease reported on some dogs in 2016 is deemed within normal limits or an incidental finding by our cardiologists and is not reported out for 2018. We see many minor leaks in the heart valves of our breed. Provided the degree of regurgitation/back leak across the valve is trivial or mild, it is not problematic or a concern. All dogs that had murmurs detected by auscultation (which would be equivocal on OFA) had an echo to determine if they were normal or had a congenital heart defect or early heart disease. The persistent left cranial vena cava found in one dog is congenital but not worrisome for the dog.
Table 2: Comparison of 2016 and 2018
| 2016 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|
| Normals | 48 | 59 |
| Degenerative valve disease/incidental findings (normal) | 11 | 1 |
| Equivocal IWH Type DCM | 2 | 4 |
| IWH Type DCM | 3 | 3 |
| VPCs | 5 | 2 |
| Pericardial effusion/aortic tumor | 0 | 0 |
| Congenital Valve disease | 2 | 1 |
| True Dilatative type cardiomyopathy | 0 | 1 |
| Totals | 71 | 71 |