Assessment of left atrial size, left atrial volume, and left ventricular function and its relation to spontaneous echocardiographic contrast in cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: A preliminary study

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The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between spontaneous echocardiographic contrast (SEC) and left atrial (LA) parameters such as size, volume, and function in cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Cats were assigned into following groups: clinically healthy cats (n=8), HCM without SEC (n=12), and HCM with SEC (n=8). Left atrial shortening fraction (LAFS%) and left atrial fractional area change (LAFAC) had statistical significance between groups. In conclusion, compared to the healthy individuals, the presence of a decreased trend in levels of LAFS% and LAFAC in HCMSEC cats could be a predictive marker for the thromboembolic risk assessment. Further studies enrolling the asymptomatic HCM cats need to be conducted to define a cut-off value of LAFS% and LAFAC before the SEC formation.