holtering for cardiomyopathy

[sugerray50]

Hello all!

Just a quick question - has anyone out there had their dog holtered, received a bad report (interference, VPCs or the such) - and then the next holter the dog read fine?

As many of you know - I've purchased a holter and have been holtering many dogs this past year (Boxers, Golden Retrievers, Irish Wolfhounds and even English Bulldogs).

Recently - one of the dogs I holtered (not naming names or breed here) came back with abnormally high VPCs - and upon immediate reholter - only showed a few (less that 20). The dog is not showing any signs of CM (no fainting, panting, coughing, etc).

I'm now concerned that other dogs that I've holtered, who've shown VPCs, may not have them....

My machine is brand new (less than a year old - and I've holtered 15-20 dogs). When I asked my holter technician - and then the board certified veterinary cardiologist - what could have caused this - there was no answer. I did follow holtering directions explicity - and the diagrams.

If any of you have had similar experiences - could you please e'mail me at xxxxxxxx



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Moderator Note:
Your email address has been removed from your post - and not for the first time. I'll remind you again to review Boxerworld's Rules before posting again on this site. You may NOT post private contact details on this public forum, even your own.


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Thanks!

 

[PawPrintBoxers]

Holter testing - BCM

You just described what Cardiologists experience as well. Dogs can have good days and bad days. 24 hours is a very small window. A dog that has had 2 conflicting readings needs to pay a visit to a Cardiologist. There may be a problem with that dog or there may not be. But only a qualified Specialist can give it.

That is what I have been told by the Cardiologists I go to at UC Davis for my Echos. When in doubt over a Boxer heart condition, always go to a Board Certified Cardiologist for testing and expert opinion.

I own a holter monitor myself. I have holtered my own dogs but also other dogs for friends. If they are holtering for breeding, I also refer them to a Cardiologist for an Echocardiogram since you have to do both sets of testing. And with any abnormal readings, I suggest they get a reholter by a Cardiologist or at least a review of the findings I get from Dr Kate Meurs, DVM Diplomat Cardiology. She is whom I send all my holter tapes to for analysis.

Just because a dog does not have symptoms does not clear them of BCM. As a Cardiologist will tell you, Sudden Death is the only symptom some dogs get :(

 

[ktn67]

Excellent advice from Christina. Only a cardiologist can have any hope of sorting through the mixed information you can sometimes get on a holter monitor. But there is no need to think the worst of a test that contains high VPC's or other anolmaly's. As Christina said, 24 hours is a small window and many things can cause "off" readings. A dog may be stressed from being out of it's normal environment, may simply not like having the monitor on, or a host of other things that may interfere with the reading. Having a repeat holter monitor done and the other tests recomended run is the best thing to do.

 

[kassa]

According to Kate Meurs at Ohio State, who has been studying the condition for years, dogs who are KNOWN to have the condition, when Holtered for a week at a time, will have days where they have 30 VPCs and days where they have 25,000. It's extremely disillusioning, because that means that the low numbers really don't mean as much as we wish they did, and the test is basically a search for the worst cases. Still, it's worth weeding out those worst cases, even if that's the best we can do.

The more holters over the more years, the better low numbers look.

 

[sugerray50]

Hello all!

First, I want to thank every one of you who've taken the time to answer the 2 posts I recently submitted.

Secondly - if there are any of you out there who are wondering the same (ie: you'd like to see a compilation of the responses I got back - all identifying information has been removed (people's names, e'mails...dog's names...etc) - I will be more than happy to e'mail you (I have 18 pages in a word document - and that's without identifying/personal information!!!!) - please e'mail me at Email removed by moderator and I would be more than happy to share the information (after all, it doesn't do anyone any good if I keep it to myself!!!! knowledge is power!).

Please - feel free to crosspost to other lists!!!!

 

[gmacleod]

That was the last time I'm removing your email address from a post here on Boxerworld. You can't post multiple copies of the same message either. Despite repeated warnings, you refuse to comply with the rules for posting on this website, so you need to find somewhere else to post your questions.

Moderator