Longitudinal left ventricular myocardial dysfunction assessed by 2D colour tissue Doppler imaging in a dog with systemic hypertension and severe arteriosclerosis.

A 12-year-old sexually intact male Vendee Griffon Basset was presented for acute pulmonary oedema. Severe systemic systolic arterial hypertension (SAH) was diagnosed (290 mmHg). Despite blood and abdominal ultrasound tests, the underlying cause of the systemic hypertension could not be determined, and primary SAH was therefore suspected. Conventional echocardiography showed eccentric left ventricular hypertrophy with normal fractional shortening. Despite this apparent normal systolic function, 2D colour tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) identified a marked longitudinal systolic left ventricular myocardial alteration, whereas radial function was still preserved. Three months later, the dog underwent euthanasia because of an acute episode of distal aortic thromboembolism. Necropsy revealed severe aortic and iliac arteriosclerosis. SAH related to arteriosclerosis is a common finding in humans, but has not been previously described in dogs. Moreover, its consequence on longitudinal myocardial function using TDI has never been documented before in this species.