The Animal Heartbeat

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As veterinary cardiologists, we rely on ultrasound every day to assess cardiac structure and function. Whilst important for owners to understand the cause of a murmur or clinical signs, we use echo to make critical decisions about when and how to treat, and inform conversations with owners about prognosis. The impact of echo on the lives of our patients is greater than anything else we do. But it may not be as accurate as you think... Learn how to best use echocardiography to make decisions, and which echo measurements may be best to select for accuracy, by joining Jose and Kieran as they speak to Dr Lance Visser, Assistant Professor at Colorado State University, about his research work in veterinary echo and his advice on how best to use this fundamental tool.

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Horses are highly evolved athletes, with mind-bending changes to the cardiovascular system achieved during exercise. How does the spectrum of heart disease compare to that seen in dogs and cats? Join our hosts, Jose and Kieran, as they enjoy a rapid-fire review of equine cardiac disorders with Prof Colin Schwarzwald, director of the Clinic of Equine Internal Medicine at the Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich.

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Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) affects 1 in 7 cats overall, and has huge implications for feline health and wellbeing across the globe. Strategies to detect early disease are fundamentally important to both pet owners and cat breeders, so that individual animals and the wider breed can be cared for as needed. Screening for HCM in apparently healthy cats has become a hot topic, and who could be better to join Jose and Kieran for a discussion on that subject than Prof Jens Häggström? Jens is leader of the internationally recognised PawPeds echo screening programme, and originator of the some of the largest studies on feline disease ever published. Listen in as he shares insights into their most recent data and his opinions on how best to approach screening for early disease.

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Dilated cardiomyopathy is one of the most challenging diseases in veterinary cardiology. Early detection is key to maximising benefit for individual dogs, but clinical signs are lacking and physical exam may be unremarkable. Adding to this, echocardiographic diagnosis may be subtle, or changes may be caused by a an underlying disease process which is reversible or self-limiting, rather than a primary myocardial disease itself. Prof Sonya Gordon, from Texas A&M University, joins Kieran and Jose to discuss the difficulties with DCM, and her approach to overcoming these to get the most for her patients.

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We all learned about the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in school... Or did we? This fantastic, in-depth interview on our current understanding of the RAAS will provide a revolutionary new perspective on how we may be able to harness the maladaptive systems that are activated in heart failure for positive purposes in our patients. Join Jose and Kieran as The Animal Heartbeat welcomes Professor Marisa Ames, Board-certified veterinary cardiologist and expert on the RAAS in dogs and cats.

Please check out https://www.trigdocs.com/ to find out more about The Translational RAAS Interest Group, Dr Ames' collective of interested clinicians and researchers from the fields of veterinary and human medicine.

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Over the last year, research data has indicated some potential hope for anti-hypertrophic drug use in feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. In this episode, Prof Joshua Stern, Associate Dean of Research at NC State University and current President of the ACVIM Cardiology Specialty, joins Jose and Kieran to review our most recent understanding of some exciting approaches which may completely change how we think about feline cardiomyopathy in the coming 5-years.

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What do you understand by clinical research? What makes a good research study, and what limitations are common in veterinary publications? How should clinical research work impact what we do as clinicians? In this episode, hosts Kieran and Jose interview Professor Adrian Boswood, Vice Principal at the Royal Veterinary College and active clinician-researcher in cardiology. Adrian has spearheaded a  number of game-changing clinical works over the last three decades, and has trained and inspired generations of undergraduate and post-graduate vets in the UK. He has lectured all over the world, and is known for his engaging and relatable explanations of complex topics.

In this episode, we discuss aspects pertinent to all subspecialties in veterinary medicine, not just cardiology research, and we consider how things could be refined to get the most out of future clinical research.

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Welcome to Season 2 of The Animal Heartbeat! It's great to be back. Join our hosts, Kieran and Jose, as they facilitate a panel discussion featuring world-renowned experts from the canine and human cardiology world. This fascinating special episode covers a range of topics centred around mitral and aortic surgery in dogs and humans, and compares the human and canine perspectives. This live event was made possible by the kind support of Ceva Animal Health.

Our panel:
Dr Ravi De Silva: Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Royal Papworth Hospital; Training Programme Director for Cardiothoracic Surgery, East of England Deanery

Dr Anne Kurosawa: ACVIM Veterinary Cardiology Diplomate; Cardiology and Cardiothoracic Surgery Team, Dick White Referrals

Dr Rohin Francis: Consultant Interventional Cardiologist, Essex Cardiothoracic Centre; UCL Clinical Research Fellow; Science Communicator (Youtube @medlifecrisis)

Dr Claudio Bussadori: ECVIM Veterinary Cardiology Diplomate; Clinic Director, Clinica Veterinaria Gran Sasso, Milan; human cardiologist and researcher at San Donato Hospital, Milan

Note - although the sound from St John's College, Cambridge, allows us to soak up the ambience of The Old Divinity School Lecture Theatre (1877), listening with earbuds may help to make the most of the audio experience.

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Christmas Day! As the roast dinner is cooking and the Prosecco is being chilled, join Jose and Kieran as they finalise their choice for top heart disease of 2023. Make sure to listen to the end for "The 12 Heart Diseases of Christmas" song in full!

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Christmas Eve. As Father Christmas readies the reindeer, what better way to prepare for festivities than discussing our favourite 12 heart diseases of Christmas? Join Kieran and Jose as they review their top heart disease facts and begin the process of selecting their favourite heart disease of 2023.