Radiological Evaluation of Caudal Vena Cava in Domestic Shorthair Cats with Regard to Right Heart Failure Diagnosis

Radiology, an imaging technique, is used in checking small animals for cardiovascular and respiratory disorders. Cardiovascular disease such as congestive heart failure, pericardial heart disease, heart worms and disease that cause injury and lesion in the right atrium may lead to an enlarged right side of the heart and as a result cause the enlargement of caudal vena cava (CVC). It is not possible to make a complete comparison of CVC size, due to variety in size of the cats but the ratio of CVC size to the other anatomical structures makes this possibility that we have a better estimation of CVC size. So the aim of this study was to evaluate the ratio of CVC size to aorta (Ao), width of fourth rib (R4) and also the thoracic vertebral length (VL) in 20 male healthy and 20 Domestic Shorthair (DSH) cats with right heart failure (RHF). To this end, the ratio of CVC size to posterior aorta (Ao), the ratio of CVC size to width of the forth rib, the ratio of CVC size to the length of thoracic vertebrae above the site of trachea bifurcation, CVC/VL of 20 RHF cats to CVC/VL of 20 healthy SHD cats, and also Ao/VL ratios were calculated. Statistical analysis showed significant difference in the CVC/Ao and CVC/R4 between healthy and RHF cats. CVC/VL was increased in RHF cats in comparison to healthy ones (P<0.05) while Ao/VL in right heart failure DSH cats was lower than that in healthy DSH cats. The results showed that right heart failure disease in cats may lead to increase in the CVC/Ao, CVC/R4 and CVC/VL parameters in comparison with healthy cats. According to this study, the method that is used to diagnose the right heart failure in dogs could be used for cats too.