Electrocardiography of 12 derivations as a complementary study for diagnosis of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy in Boxer dogs

• Grant number: 12/17391-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): November 01, 2012
• Effective date (End): October 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Clinics and Surgery
• Principal Investigator: Aparecido Antonio Camacho
• Grantee: Talita Beani Corsini
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is described as a genetic cause of disorder of the cardiac muscle, pathologically characterized as a fibroadipose infiltration in the right ventricular myocardium. Arrhythmogenic ventricular tachycardia is the clinical form more representative. In animals, the ARVC is mainly described in Boxer dogs. It is believed that this is the one of the mainly causes of sudden death in these animals. Recently, carrier dogs of ARVC have been used as spontaneous animal models of the disease presented by humans. In this study, 20 Boxer dogs will be evaluated, without distinction of sex or age. These animals will be selected in two distinct groups, being the first group (GC) compound with 10 animals unaffected by ARVC and the second group (GD) compound with 10 animals affected. The second group will be subdivided according to the degree of remodeling right ventricular chamber. Affected animals that do not show right ventricular increase in the echocardiographic evaluation will be part of GD1 group. Those that have increase in this chamber will be part of GD2 group. In three consecutive cardiac cycles will be measured: amplitude and duration of P wave, QRS complex and T-wave; duration of P-R and Q-T interval; amplitude of S-T segment; and the ratio between the QRS complex duration in V1, V2 and V3 and V4, V5 and V6 (V1+V2+V3/V4+V5+V6). Also, will be evaluated if there are T-wave inverted in derivations V1-V3, epsilon wave and the S-wave upstroke. This study aims to assess whether there are changes in 12-lead electrocardiogram in Boxer dogs affected by ARVC, which may lead the detection, with an easy and noninvasive technique, as a new complementary tool for the diagnosis of this disease. (AU)