Left Atrial Hemodynamics in Animals with Naturally Occurring Left Heart Diseases

Presentation Description / Summary: Left atrial pressures are poorly characterized in naturally-occurring heart diseases in small animals primarily due to difficulty in acquisition. Left atrial access typically requires retrograde catheterization and/or transseptal puncture. Over the past 4 years, we have performed 180 transseptal punctures on a variety of patients with left heart disease as part of a therapeutic technique (left atrial decompression). We will present data and left atrial pressure tracings from this patient population, with a focus on patients with myxomatous degeneration of the mitral valve. We will review typical atrial pressure tracings in dogs with mitral valve degeneration, cats with cardiomyopathy (restrictive and hypertrophic), and patients with congenital left heart diseases, highlighting the major differences in atrial hemodynamics with various disease states. We will also discuss the effects of left atrial decompression on atrial hemodynamics.