Cardiac biomarker concentrations in cats with elevated pancreatic lipase concentrations

Background Cardiac biomarker concentrations are elevated in dogs with pancreatitis, but it is unknown if this is also the case for cats. Methods The serum feline pancreatic lipase immunoreactivity (fPLI) of serum samples from 60 cats was quantified using the Spec fPL assay. Serum N‐terminal pro‐B‐type natriuretic peptide (NT‐proBNP) and high‐sensitivity cardiac troponin I (HST) concentrations were also measured using commercial assays. Results Five of 20 cats with fPLI concentrations of 8.8 mg/L or more had above reference interval NT‐proBNP concentrations. Serum NT‐proBNP concentrations were not correlated with fPLI concentrations ( p = 0.31) and were not different in each diagnostic category for fPLI results ( p = 0.24). Serum HST concentrations were positively correlated with fPLI concentrations ( r = 0.278, 95% confidence interval: 0.02‒0.50, p = 0.03). However, they were not significantly different in each diagnostic category for fPLI results ( p = 0.16). Limitations Unidentified co‐variates could contribute to the association between fPLI and cardiac biomarker concentrations. Conclusions Cats with elevated fPLI concentrations may have elevated cardiac biomarker concentrations.