Echocardiographic Diastolic Indices of the Left Ventricle in Normal Doberman Pinschers and Retrievers

The aim of our study was to evaluate diastolic function of the left ventricle assessed by Doppler echocardiography in normal Doberman pinschers (DPs; n=39) and to study the effects of gender, age, body weight and heart rate on diastolic values. Diastolic echocardiographic values obtained in DPs were compared to the diastolic values in a group of Retrievers (n=20). The following correlations were found in DPs: a negative correlation between heart rate and mitral E/A ratio, a negative correlation between E-wave velocity and s/d ratio of pulmonary vein flow and a positive correlation between E-wave velocity and deceleration time of mitral E wave (DTE) and a negative correlation between left ventricular posterior wall in diastole (LVPWd) and DTE. Age, body weight and sex had no influence on the left ventricular diastolic indices in DPs. In Retrievers the following correlations were found: a negative correlation between heart rate and IVRT, a positive correlation between age and s/d ratio, a positive correlation between left ventricular dimension in diastole (LVDd) and mitral E/A ratio, a positive correlation between interventricular septal thickness in systole (IVSs) and DTE, a positive correlation between LVPWd and DTE and a positive correlation between LAD and s/d ratio. Body weight had no influence on the left ventricular diastolic indices in Retrievers. There was no gender influence on diastolic parameters in either group of dogs. We found statistical significant difference in several of the obtained diastolic indices in DP comparing to the Retrievers: d wave (P = 0,0316), s – wave (P = 0,0035), Ar – wave (P < 0,001) and mitral A – wave (P =0,0179) were significantly higher and DTE (P < 0,001) was significantly longer in DP. Differences were also found in comparison to a group of dogs of different breed and boxers from the literature. Results show that Doberman pinschers have some differences in diastolic parameters present that may be inherent for the breed, but may be also influenced by physiologic conditions such as heart rate or due to variability in sampling.