Comparison of myocardial deformation analyzed by speckle tracking echocardiography between cats with transient myocardial thickening and cats with decompensated hypertrophic cardiomyopathy : a retrospective study

Abstract

This retrospective study evaluates left ventricular deformation using speckle-tracking in 18 cats: 9 with transient myocardial thickening (TMT) and 9 with decompensated hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). The aims were to compare acute TMT with remission in the same individuals and to contrast TMT with HCM by quantifying radial strain (RS) and layer-specific longitudinal strain (LS). In the inter-group analysis (acute TMT vs HCM), no significant differences were found for RS or for any LS layer. In cats with TMT that were followed up, the paired comparison between the acute episode and remission showed no significant difference, despite a numerical increase in RS. Biomarkers aided triage: cTnI was markedly higher in acute TMT than in stage-C HCM. Intra-operator reproducibility at 24 hours was good to excellent for RS and LS, except for mid -myocardial LS. Overall, speckle-tracking quantifies myocardial involvement but, by itself, does not discriminate acute TMT from decompensated. Therefore, integrating clinical date and biomarkers remains essential for diagnosis and therapeutic decision-making.