Estimation of left ventricular–arterial coupling using echocardiography in cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Objectives Ventricular‐arterial coupling is the interaction between the ventricle and the arterial system, reflecting overall cardiovascular performance. It is estimated by the ratio of effective arterial elastance ( E a ) to left ventricular end‐systolic elastance ( E es ). Inappropriate ventricular‐arterial coupling has been associated with greater disease severity and poorer prognosis. However, no studies have evaluated ventricular‐arterial coupling in cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the echocardiographically estimated ventricular‐arterial coupling in cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Materials and Methods This retrospective study included data from 36 healthy cats and 69 cats diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The hypertrophic cardiomyopathy group was further subdivided into stages B1, B2 and C. Echocardiographic parameters were used to estimate E a and E es , for the calculation of ventricular‐arterial coupling. Results The results showed that the ventricular‐arterial coupling value in cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy stage B1 was significantly lower than that of both the healthy control group and the hypertrophic cardiomyopathy stage C group. Ventricular‐arterial coupling had a strong negative correlation with fractional shortening ( P < .001, r = −0.808) and a fair positive correlation with left ventricular internal diameter ( P < .001, r = 0.496). Clinical Significance With further study, ventricular‐arterial coupling estimated by echocardiography has the potential to become a valuable parameter for early detection and evaluation of cardiac function in cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.