Key result
Medical therapy and pregnancy completion resolve transient high-output heart failure, reducing cardiac index by ~44%.
Why the study?
Transient high-output heart failure associated with pregnancy has not been previously described in cats, and echocardiographic cardiac index measurement may aid identification.
Case Report (n=1)
No
This case highlights the first documentation of transient, pregnancy-associated high-output heart failure in a cat, demonstrating the clinical utility of echocardiographic cardiac index measurement for diagnosis.
Cardiac index monitoring may identify transient pregnancy-associated high-output failure in cats; leaves open generalizability beyond this single case.
A female cat (approximately 3 weeks of gestation) was referred for respiratory distress and pleural effusion. Echocardiography revealed dilation of the left atrium and left ventricle, and the cardiac index was markedly elevated (0.39 L/kg/min), raising suspicion for high-output heart failure (HOHF). The cat was treated with furosemide and enrofloxacin. Pleural effusion completely resolved in late pregnancy, and 45 days after delivery the cardiac index decreased to 0.22 L/kg/min. To our knowledge, this is the first report describing a transient HOHF associated with pregnancy in a cat, highlighting the clinical utility of echocardiographic cardiac index measurement for identifying this condition. Further accumulation of cases is needed to better characterise this condition in feline patients.
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Yasutomo Hori (2026) conducted a case report in High-output heart failure (n=1). Furosemide and enrofloxacin was evaluated on Echocardiographic cardiac index. Medical management with furosemide and enrofloxacin, alongside completion of pregnancy, led to the resolution of transient high-output heart failure, decreasing the cardiac index from 0.39 L/kg/min to 0.22 L/kg/min.
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