Comparison of single- versus seven-day Holter analysis for the identification of dilated cardiomyopathy predictive criteria in apparently healthy Doberman Pinscher dogs.

INTRODUCTION

The primary objective of this study was to test whether seven-day Holter recording improves the sensitivity of detecting dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) predictive criteria (DCMp) compared with 24-h Holter recording in asymptomatic Doberman Pinscher (DP) dogs.

ANIMALS: Twenty-eight asymptomatic DP dogs with normal echocardiographic examinations.

METHODS

Dogs with normal echocardiographic examinations underwent seven-day Holter monitoring. The presence of ≥50 ventricular premature complexes and or ≥ one couplet/one triplet/one episode of ventricular tachycardia per 24-h period was considered positive for DCMp.

RESULTS

Five dogs were positive on the first day, and an additional six dogs tested positive from day two to seven of the Holter recording. The number of dogs positive for DCMp detected by four days was significantly different (p = 0.031) compared with the first-day Holter recording.

CONCLUSIONS

Seven-day Holter recording detected significantly more dogs with DCMp compared with the first-day Holter recording. Follow-up studies are warranted to evaluate the long-term accuracy of multiple-day Holter analysis in predicting the development of DCM in DP dogs.