Life-Threatening Cardiac Emergencies for the Small Animal Practitioner

Maureen McMichael, DVM, DACVECC, is a Professor in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine and Section Chief of the Small Animal Emergency and Critical Care Section at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in Urbana, Illinois, USA.Ryan Fries, DVM, DACVIM, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Medicine  (cardiologist) at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in Urbana, Illinois, USA.

"Life-Threatening Cardiac Emergencies for the Small Animal Practitioner is a quick reference for some of the most common small animal cardiac emergencies that private practitioners encounter. The text describes a basic approach to ECG interpretation and provides a concise evaluation and review of many common cardiac arrhythmias categorized by heart rate as well as some commonly diagnosed cardiac conditions. The images presented are clear JAVMA • Vol 250 • No. 12 • June 15, 2017 1405 and easy to follow and understand with the captions provided. This book is not intended to provide readers with a detailed explanation of the electrophysiology and potential variations of arrhythmias or complete review of cardiac pathophysiology. The information presented is basic and geared more for quick reference by primary care veterinarians rather than cardiologists and is comprehensive in this regard. Overall, it is a concise, well-organized basic reference guide for common cardiac emergencies of small animals" (Reviewed by Maribeth J. Bossbaly, VMD, DACVIM, Veterinary Specialty & Emergency Center, Levittown, Pa 15th June 2017)

• Preface ixAcknowledgments xiIntroduction xiii1 Normal ECG 1Before recording 1ECG set up 2Recording the ECG 2What is measured 3Normal ECG 3Calculating the heart rate 3Calculating the mean electrical axis 5Measuring the complexes 52 Bradyarrhythmias 8Sinus bradycardia 8Sinus arrhythmia 9Sinus arrest 10Atrial standstill 10AV block overview 12First-degree AV block 12Second-degree AV block 12Third-degree AV block 13Asystole 15Cardiopulmonary arrest 16Escape rhythms 203 Tachyarrhythmias 22Atrial premature complexes 22Ventricular premature complexes 23Differentiating SVT from VT 25Supraventricular tachycardia 27Atrial fibrillation 29Ventricular pre-excitation 32Re-entrant tachycardia 33Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome 34Ventricular tachycardia 36Accelerated idioventricular rhythm 39Ventricular flutter 40Ventricular fibrillation 40Torsade de pointes 414 Miscellaneous arrhythmias and cardiac conditions 42Artifacts and anomalies 42Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy 42AV junctional rhythms 45Junctional escape beats 45Junctional rhythm 46Bradycardia-tachycardia syndrome (sick sinus syndrome) 47Electrical alternans (pericardial effusion) 48Left bundle branch block 50Left anterior fascicular block 51Right bundle branch block 52ST segment abnormalities 52T wave abnormalities 53Canine congestive heart failure—mitral valve insufficiency 55Canine dilated cardiomyopathy 58Feline aortic thromboembolism (saddle thrombus) 61Feline congestive heart failure 64Heartworm—caval syndrome (CS) 68Pericardial effusion 735 Electrolyte disturbance and the ECG 77Hyperkalemia 77Hypokalemia 78Hypercalcemia 78Hypocalcemia 796 Emergency algorithms 80Bradycardia algorithm 80Tachycardia algorithm 80Asystole algorithm (CPR) 80Arrhythmia drug chart 80Further reading 86Index 87