Thromboembolism in cats is a syndrome of acute disturbance of blood flow in a pet, caused by the process of embolization (blockage) of an artery by a blood clot (thrombus). According to experts, this disease accompanies extensive trauma in the animal, cardiomyopathy, as well as chronic heart and kidney failure. The localization of the blood clot usually occurs in the place where the aorta is divided into two branches (bifurcation area). However, blockages can also develop in the arteries of the kidneys or lungs.
This pathology is dangerous because the thrombus, as it moves through the blood vessels, can completely block the vessel of the limb. This leads to paresis or paralysis hind legs pet and the beginning of necrotic processes in blocked parts of the body. The article will discuss in detail the causes of thrombosis, the main symptoms and treatment methods.
The owner must clearly understand that the disease in question is a concomitant rather than an independent disease. That is, it develops against the background of various diseases, mainly heart ones, that the cat had or still has.
A blood clot often develops in the left atrium, through which it can travel to the most distant parts of the aorta. As a result, a meowing friend may develop problems in the gastrointestinal tract, brain, kidneys, and also completely lose their hind or forelimbs.
Veterinarians note that thromboembolism can be arterial and venous. They differ in the location of the blood clot. Moreover, blood clots are even more common in veins. This occurs due to the speed of blood flow: in the artery it is very fast, and in the vein it is slow. In addition, arterial vessels have a smooth intima (inner lining), which prevents the formation of clots. On the other hand, a blood clot formed in a vein practically cannot lead a pet to instant death. But the one that arose in the aorta is fine.
Causes
Blood clots can form in blood vessels due to the following factors:
- infection and sepsis;
- poisoning of an animal with toxic substances;
- pathology of cardio-vascular system;
- oncological diseases;
- the presence of enzymes in the blood;
- mechanical damage to blood vessels;
- previous operations.
It is important for cat owners to know that, according to statistics, these animals more often than others suffer from diseases of the cardiovascular system. Therefore, the formation of clots in arteries and veins is not uncommon for them.
Symptoms of the disease
Experts are convinced that in many respects the signs of the disease are determined by the location of the process. The most striking symptoms of thromboembolism in cats are expressed as follows:
- The cat's coordination of movements is impaired and lameness appears.
- Palpation of the hind legs may reveal paralysis of both legs. At the same time, the muscles on them become like stone.
- The tailed fidget's paw pads are turning pale.
- If a blood clot has blocked the renal arteries, the animal will begin to suffer from pain in the lumbar region and severe vomiting will occur. A blood test may show an increased content of nitrogenous metabolic products.
- Thromboembolism of the mesenteric arteries is characterized by the fact that the pet begins to have diarrhea and vomiting, often with the presence of blood in the discharge. Palpation of the abdomen leads to painful reactions.
- Coma, seizures reminiscent of epileptic and disturbances in the functioning of the vestibular apparatus are signs of a blood clot that is located in the blood vessels of the brain.
- If a blood clot forms in the pulmonary artery, the pet will develop a severe cough and shortness of breath. The mucous membranes turn pale. The pulse becomes weak, and the jugular veins characteristically swell.
Data from statistical studies regarding the survival rate of pets who have developed thromboembolism are extremely disappointing. The presence of a blood clot is aggravated by the entry of ischemic toxins into the blood. Taken together, this leads to multiple development of pathological processes in the animal’s body.
Thromboembolism in cats can only be cured if detected early. A timely diagnosis by a qualified specialist and immediate treatment can minimize the damage caused by a blood clot traveling through the cat’s bloodstream. Otherwise, the risk of death increases with each lost day.
Diagnostic methods
With pronounced clinical symptoms, identifying thromboembolism is not particularly difficult for a doctor. If the signs are not so characteristic, then a number of procedures will help determine an accurate diagnosis. These include:
- Biochemical analysis of the animal’s blood, as well as an additional study of its clotting time.
- Ultrasound of the heart is aimed at assessing the speed at which myocardial contractions occur, as well as how much the atria have increased or decreased compared to normal.
- Angiography is a procedure through which it is possible to identify pathologies in the functioning of an animal’s blood vessels.
Treatment of the disease
How effective the treatment of thromboembolism in cats will be directly depends on how quickly the owners contact the veterinary hospital. If the process has not gone too far, the doctor will definitely try to restore normal blood flow in the animal. The most drastic, but also effective methods include surgery. In this case, the veterinarian opens the aorta in order to free the duct and prevent the occurrence of ischemia.
It is important to understand that this disease itself is only a symptom. Therefore, a specialist needs to eliminate the cause of its appearance, that is, a blood clot. After a blood clot is found, infusion therapy is performed, allowing the blood to remain in the vascular bed. The last step will be to prescribe thrombolytics to your pet - drugs that prevent the formation of blood clots. The dose and intensity of medication is prescribed by a specialist depending on the individual characteristics of the patient.
The owner should be aware that the risk of death during surgery is very high. As an alternative, rheolytic thrombectomy can be used. Its essence lies in the fact that the doctor tries to “break” the clot using a catheter inserted into the vessel. The cat is under general anesthesia at this time. The procedure is very complex, and only an experienced veterinarian can perform it efficiently. But even this does not provide a complete guarantee of recovery; a relapse can occur within 3-4 weeks.
In particularly advanced cases of thromboembolism, when the pet’s body has already undergone the process of tissue necrosis, the best solution would be to stop the pet’s suffering and euthanize it.
Preventive actions
As a result of research, veterinarians have found that the average life expectancy of a cat that has undergone surgery to remove a blood clot ranges from 3 months to 2 years. Very rarely, but it happens that the pet returns to its normal life. True, this is the exception rather than the rule. Much more often, a furry friend remains disabled forever, having difficulty moving and meeting his natural needs. Therefore, it is better to prevent the disease than to risk your pet’s health later.
There are no special preventive measures that will effectively protect a cat from blood clots. However, the owner should try to protect the animal from excessively fatty foods. Cats whose diet consists of healthy foods rich in vitamins and microelements get sick much less often. In addition, your cat should be vaccinated on time and given anthelmintic drugs. Such measures will reduce the risk of blood clots developing in the animal’s vessels by a quarter.
Thromboembolism is a syndrome of acute circulatory disorders resulting from the closure of the lumen of an artery by a thrombus, the formation of which is caused by an imbalance between the coagulation and anticoagulation systems of the blood. Most often, arterial thromboembolism occurs in an apparently healthy animal with chronic heart disease as a result of cardiomyopathy. However, in some cases the underlying condition of thromboembolism cannot be determined.
The diagnosis is usually made on the basis of history and clinical examination, but the presence of the thrombus itself can be confirmed directly using Doppler ultrasound, non-selective angiography, or embolectomy.
Clinical signs are usually observed in predisposed cats around 5 years of age, with others over 10 years of age. Males get sick much more often than females, and symptoms can begin to appear as early as 1 year of age.
This pathology is characterized by the suddenness of its manifestation, and clinical signs develop very quickly. They are caused by ischemic neuromyopathy that occurs distal to the site of thrombosis and vary depending on the location of the thrombus and the degree of vascular occlusion. Aortic thromboembolism is most common (more than 90% of cases), but blockage of other areas of the aorta and arteries can also occur. With classic thrombosis in the area of the abdominal aortic bifurcation, the diagnosis can be established only on the basis of the presence of 5 clinical signs: pain, paralysis, absence of pulse, cold and pale limb. Lower motor neuron symptoms may also be present in the forelimbs if there is a thrombus in the brachial artery, where pulselessness is more difficult to diagnose. With embolization of other areas (brain, mesenteric arteries), the clinical picture is more variable. In addition to the clinical signs already listed, it is important to identify possible symptoms of congestive heart failure, since this indicates a worse prognosis and should be treated differentially.
For diagnostic purposes, it is also possible to conduct angiography - a method of contrast X-ray examination of the blood vessels of the body. However, attempts to contrast the feline abdominal aorta through the jugular vein are usually ineffective due to the sharp decrease in the concentration of contrast agent in the caudal abdominal aorta during contrast. If necessary, myelography or MRI can be performed to exclude compression injuries of the spinal cord.
The prognosis for cats with thromboembolism of the vessels of the extremities is cautious, often unfavorable. Most cats die early after the first clinical signs appear, or owners are forced to use euthanasia in order to relieve the animal from pain.
Treatment of cats with thromboembolism should be based on knowledge of the pathogenesis of this condition and the clinical presentation. Cats with renal or mesenteric artery thromboembolism, severe pain, hard-feeling hindlimb muscles, or severe congestive heart failure may be better off euthanized due to their poor prognosis. In other cases, treatment must begin immediately after diagnosis.
The goal of conservative therapy is to reduce reflex spasm and improve collateral circulation, prevent the development of continued thrombosis and lyse the existing thrombus, reduce metabolic processes in the affected limb and neutralize the products of perverted metabolism entering the general bloodstream.
Thrombolytic therapy is the standard of care for thromboembolism. It is carried out with the aim of restoring blood flow through clogged vessels as quickly as possible and reducing pressure in them. Currently, in clinical practice, in the treatment of thromboembolism, a group of thrombolytics (streptokinase, urokinase) that do not have an affinity for fibrin and create systemic fibrinolysis, and a group of thrombolytics (tissue plasminogen activator, alteplase, prourokinase) that have an affinity for thrombus fibrin and act only on thrombus. In the absence of thrombolytics, treatment of thromboembolism should begin with intravenous heparin.
In addition, they treat heart failure, provide cellular rest, oxygen therapy, provide pain relief, and prevent blood clot enlargement. It is necessary to carry out infusion therapy with solutions with high molecular weight that help improve the rheological properties of blood. Monitor serum potassium and creatinine levels as hyperkalemia may develop. Prevents further ischemic damage to living cells. In the case of timely and qualified veterinary care, restoration of function occurs gradually, over 7-14 days, and ends after 6-8 weeks. However, paresis often remains.
Surgical treatment of thromboembolism in cats is also possible when the thrombus is directly removed from the vessel - embolectomy. Surgery can be performed in animals with a completely blocked vessel and a known location of the thrombus (only the area of the abdominal aortic bifurcation). Most often, good results of surgical treatment can be expected only in patients with a short period of circulatory disorders - up to 2 hours, otherwise the patient dies within a few days after the operation with symptoms of multiple organ failure as a result of reperfusion syndrome (the process of restoring blood circulation in an ischemic organ or tissue) . Therefore, surgical treatment is not generally recommended in cats.
Pulmonary embolism develops when a blood clot becomes lodged in the arterial tree of the lungs and obstructs the flow of blood to the lungs served by that artery.
Potential sites of origin include the right atrium, vena cava, jugular veins, and femoral or mesenteric veins; These venous thrombi are carried by the bloodstream to the lungs, where they are arrested in the pulmonary circulation.
· Abnormal blood flow (stasis), damage to the vascular endothelium, and impaired coagulability (hypercoagulable state) are hypothesized to predispose to thrombus formation.
· In most patients, pulmonary embolism is a complication of another primary pathological process.
SYSTEMS AFFECTED
Respiratory - decreased pulmonary blood flow leads to arterial hypoxemia and dyspnea
· Cardiovascular - pulmonary hypertension may develop, which will lead to enlargement of the right ventricle and right-sided ventricular failure.
FREQUENCY, PREVALENCY
· Not well known - the likelihood of pulmonary embolism is increased in animals with abnormal coagulation or severe systemic disease.
· not so common in dogs; rare in cats
SUSCEPTIBILITY
Dogs and cats
Breed predispositions
No established predisposition; The disease is observed more often in medium and large breeds of dogs.
Average age of onset
More often observed in mature and old dogs
SIGNS
Anamnesis data
Often reflects a primary disease
· Sometimes it is also the reason for primary research; Anamnestic complaints in such patients are peracute dyspnea, collapse, cough or hemoptysis, general weakness, and inability to sleep or discomfort.
Data from a general clinical study
Tachypnea and dyspnea in most animals
In some animals - tachycardia, weak arterial pulse, distension of the jugular veins, pallor or cyanotic visible mucous membranes, slowing of capillary refill time (CRT), and splitting of the second heart sound
RISK FACTORS
· Coagulopathy, and specifically any condition with increased coagulation
· Diseases noted in the "causes" are also relevant
· Estrogen use and air travel may be an etiological cause.
DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS
· Other diseases that cause clinically significant dyspnea and hypoxemia without profound radiographic changes are upper airway obstruction, laryngeal paralysis, and diffuse airway disease (eg, toxin inhalation and interstitial pneumonia).
· Upper airway obstruction often manifests as inspiratory dyspnea; On auscultation, pulmonary sounds are often heard louder in the trachea or laryngeal area
· Should be one of the priority diagnostic hypotheses in patients with an acute attack of dyspnea and diseases that are known to be associated with pulmonary embolism.
CBC/BIOCHEMISTRY/URINALYSIS (URINE ANALYSIS)
· Results often reflect the primary diseases described.
· Leukocytosis may develop.
OTHER LABORATORY TESTS
Arterial blood gas analysis often shows arterial hypoxemia (PaO2< 65 mm Hg) и снижение количества PaCO2 c дыхательным алкалозом.
· Severely ill patients may develop metabolic and respiratory acidosis.
· Study of coagulation parameters may show high amounts of fibrin dehydration products, increased fibrinogen, or abnormalities in the first stage of prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (PTT).
INSPECTION
Radiography chest
- changes.
Normal or enlarged pulmonary artery, cardiomegaly, interstitial and alveolar lung contours, small pleural effusions, or areas of regional increased lucency.
Echocardiographic changes
Enlarged right ventricle, enlarged segment of the pulmonary artery, or reduced size of the left ventricular cavity in some patients;
· Sometimes a blood clot is visualized in the right side of the heart or in the pulmonary artery.
Angiographic changes and radionuclide studies
Usually required for definitive diagnosis
· RIGHT cardiac catheterization by pulmonary angiography may allow identification of intravascular thrombus or regions of decreased pulmonary blood flow; Nonselective angiography has little diagnostic success, especially in medium-sized and large breed dogs.
· Combined ventilation and perfusion scanning with radioisotopes allows the identification of well-ventilated regions of the lungs that do not receive blood from the bloodstream; When the chest x-ray is nearly normal, a perfusion scan alone may be sufficient.
DIAGNOSTIC PROCEDURES
Electrocardiography
Acute “cor pulmonale” - deviation to the right of the electrical axis of the heart, P pulmonale, deviation in the ST segment, wide T waves
Arrhythmias
PATHOLOGICAL CHANGES
Thrombi in the large branches of the pulmonary artery in most patients
· Some patients show many small blood clots in the small vessels of the pulmonary artery, and can lead to pronounced respiratory dysfunction and death.
SUITABLE CARE
Always treat patients with suspected pulmonary embolism as urgent until hypoxemia has resolved.
HOSPITAL CARE
· Use intravenous fluids cautiously, except in cases with previous loss of large amounts of blood; they can lead to the development of right-sided congestive heart failure.
· If there is dyspnea and/or PaO2< 65 мм ртутного столба - применить оксигенацию.
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Limit to prevent worsening of hypoxemia or syncope.
TRAINING, INFORMING THE CLIENT
· Draw the client’s attention that the disease is often fatal; future episodes will be similar, unless the causes already described are clearly identified and corrected; sudden death is common.
· Treatment with anticoagulant medications may lead to bleeding; Frequent checking of clotting time (coagulation) (for example, PT and PTT) is a necessary condition for successful recovery; anticoagulant use may need to be long-term - for many months, even after complete recovery of the etiological disease.
SURGICAL TREATMENT OPTIONS
A cardiopulmonary bypass is required, and this is not possible in most clinics; even if there is a technical possibility of execution, data from humane medical literature indicate a high probability of surgical mortality.
MEDICATIONS OF CHOICE
· Always identify and treat the described etiological diseases;
Unfortunately, this is not a sufficient guarantee of success - even aggressive efforts to treat pulmonary embolism very often turn out to be in vain.
· Heparin may help prevent future blood clots from developing; low doses are not sufficient; a dose of 200-300 units/kg subcutaneously every 8 hours is indicated.
· The use of thrombolytic medications (eg, streptokinase, streptokinase, and tissue plasminogen activator) may also be helpful; These medications are very expensive and associated with a high risk of hemorrhagic complications.
Warfarin - usually indicated for long-term treatment (0.1 mg/kg once daily), with dose adjustments to maintain prothrombin time (PT) 1.5-2 times within baseline parameters.
PRECAUTIONS
Warfarin, Warfarin - interacts with many other medications; the degree of anticoagulation may change after taking these medications; Dose titration may be difficult in patients with disease resulting in coagulopathy. It is necessary to become thoroughly familiar with the mechanism of action and pharmacological properties of antithrombotic drugs before using them.
PATIENT MONITORING
· Serial blood gas analysis - can help determine if there is improvement in respiratory function
· PT every 3 days mainly to clarify the dose of warfarin, Warfarin until receiving PT 1.5-2 time parameters of the main line. International standard parameters are recommended to minimize the effects of whale test determination of PT results. Check once a week after the effective dose has been reached (most often not earlier than after 2 weeks).
PREVENTION, PREVENTION
· Physical activity may improve venous blood flow and prevent the development of venous thrombi in immobile patients with severe systemic disease.
· Aspirin may have some preventive role, but is an inadequate choice as primary treatment.
· Heparin can be used in animals predisposed to developing pulmonary embolism (200 units/kg IV generally and 75 units/kg subcutaneously every 4-8 hours).
POSSIBLE COMPLICATIONS
Clinically important hemorrhagic complications may occur in patients treated with anticoagulant medications. Bleeding can occur from any organ or system. In such cases, it is necessary to anticipate the likelihood of active bleeding or the occurrence of anemia requiring blood or plasma transfusion and have blood ready for use.
EXPECTED DEVELOPMENT AND FORECAST
Mostly reserved to poor; depends on whether the underlying cause can be overcome. For irreversible diseases (eg, some neoplasias and late protein-losing nephropathies), the long-term prognosis is poor; slightly better for patients with trauma or sepsis
ACCOMPANYING CONDITIONS:
Look at the causes and risk factors
SYNONYMS
Pulmonary embolism, PTE
ABBREVIATIONS
PT = prothrombin time
PTT = partial thromboplastin time
Thrombophlebitis (Thrombophlebitis; from the Greek thrombos - blood clot, thrombus and phleps, native pad. Phlebos - vein) - inflammation of a vein with thrombosis; in animals it often occurs in large veins after intravenous injections, bloodletting (in large animals - in the jugular vein, and in small animals - in the veins of the extremities). If an animal develops simultaneous thrombophlebitis with periphlebitis, the disease is called parathrombophlebitis, and with endophlebitis - thromboendophlebitis. Thrombophlebitis in animals can be aseptic and purulent.
Etiology. The cause of thrombophlebitis in animals is the administration of drugs that lead to a chemical burn of the wall of a blood vessel (chloral hydrate, calcium chloride, etc.), the presence of purulent foci in the perivascular tissues, purulent-resorptive fever and metastatic sepsis, an infected wound of the vein wall. A contributing factor in the occurrence of thrombophlebitis in animals is a change in blood composition in certain diseases.
Pathogenesis. In a sick animal, inflammation of the outer or inner lining of the vein first occurs, and then thrombosis, or thrombosis may appear first, and then inflammation. With aseptic thrombophlebitis, the inflamed area of the vein is obstructed. If you take timely measures to eliminate the cause and treat thrombophlebitis, then in a sick animal you can cause the acute inflammatory phenomena to subside, and the blood clot to resolve or drain. Sometimes the obstructed vein becomes obliterated (empties out, turning into a dense cord). Purulent thrombophlebitis in an animal is usually caused by a pyogenic infection. In this case, the thrombus undergoes purulent melting, which is accompanied in the animal by necrosis of the vessel wall, and then spontaneous opening of the vein occurs. In this case, pus enters the perivascular space and causes the animal to develop an abscess or phlegmon. When a blood clot melts, its small particles can be carried away by the blood, causing embolism in the blood vessels of various organs () and purulent inflammation. Sometimes, with good resistance of the body, the death of the invading pathogen occurs, acute inflammatory phenomena subside and the process ends, as with aseptic thrombophlebitis.
Clinical picture. With aseptic thrombophlebitis, by palpation we note an increase in local temperature and swelling along the affected vein, which, upon palpation, can be felt in the form of a cord, is painful, its peripheral area is filled with blood. With purulent thrombophlebitis, a veterinary specialist notes a sharp disturbance in the general condition of the body. The sick animal is depressed, local and general body temperature is increased, and venous hyperemia of the mucous membranes occurs. With purulent thrombophlebitis of the jugular vein, the sick animal may have swelling of the head and the act of chewing becomes difficult. Thrombophlebitis of deep venous lines in animals is characterized by postthrombotic syndrome (severe pain, fever, progressive swelling distal to the site of thrombophlebitis, development of chronic circulatory failure, dysfunction of the organ where the affected vein is located). The degree of venous circulation disorder and the clinical picture of the disease depend on the location of the thrombus, the degree of development of collateral circulation, duration of the disease, treatment and other factors.
Diagnosis Thrombophlebitis is diagnosed based on clinical signs of the disease.
Differential diagnosis. Thrombophlebitis must be differentiated from.
Treatment. With aseptic thrombophlebitis, the sick animal is prescribed complete rest. The skin in the area where the vein is affected is initially lubricated with an alcohol solution of iodine, then cold lead lotions and other types of cold are used for 24 hours. From the second day we resort to thermal procedures in the form of alcohol, alcohol-ichthyol compresses, and also use rubbing of irritating ointments - camphor, ichthyol and iodide, paraffin and osekerite therapy, vaporization; diathermy, sollux or infraruuge lamp; in the treatment of extensive aseptic, not yet formed blood clots, leech treatment is used - hirudotherapy in combination with novocaine blockades and heat; practice is to inject fibrolysin into the affected vein in combination with heparin, dicoumarin or sodium citrate. In the first days of treatment, heparin is injected into a vein 4-5 times a day (for horses and cattle the daily dose is up to 150,000 units, for small animals - 5000-10,000 units). When treating with anticoagulants, the veterinarian must conduct a control blood test every 2 days. If prothrombin decreases to 30%, we clinically note the appearance of bleeding from mucous membranes or wounds, immediately stop injections of anticoagulants, and inject a 1% solution of protamine sulfite, which is a heparin antagonist, into the vein (1 mg of this drug neutralizes 10-IU heparin). Sick animals are given novocaine therapy. If a sick animal has purulent thrombophlebitis, phlegmon, surgical intervention is performed - linear incisions are made in the skin and loose tissue, without damaging the vein itself. By doing this, we achieve a reduction in the tension of swollen tissues, improve local blood circulation and promote the removal of toxic and tissue-melting products. If an abscess matures in the perivascular tissue, it should be opened according to the rules of surgery. Antibiotic therapy is used in treatment.
For the first time in medicine, the concept of blockage of a vessel (embolism) by something (for example, a blood clot), with subsequent disruption of the blood supply to surrounding organs and tissues, was introduced in 1856. In veterinary medicine, the first experimental work showing the existence of a cause-and-effect relationship between thromboembolism and heart disease in cats was carried out in the 60s of the twentieth century.
Causes of thromboembolism:
1) The most common occurrence of aortic thromboembolism in cats is with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and endomyocarditis, and less commonly, pulmonary embolism. At the same time, the enlargement of the heart chambers contributes to blood stagnation and the formation of blood clots. Also, chronic cardiac pathology is accompanied by dysfunction of the liver and kidneys, which lead to insufficiency of the anticoagulation system of the blood. With endomyocarditis (inflammation of the endo- and myocardium), cell death occurs, which can also cause the formation of blood clots. 
2) Severe infections and sepsis.
3) All types of shock.
4) Extensive surgical operations.
5) Immune diseases, allergies.
6) Oncological diseases (especially vascular tumors).
7) Chemical and thermal burns of the esophagus and stomach.
8) Extensive injuries and bleeding.
9) Poisoning with hemolytic poisons.
10) Incorrect use of drugs that increase and decrease blood clotting.
Clinical signs (occur quickly, within a few minutes):
- The first symptom of thromboembolism is often intense vocalization by the animal due to severe pain.
- The animal breathes frequently (dyspnea), with its mouth open.
- There is a decrease in general temperature and the development of shock (cardiogenic).
Paralysis or paresis of one or several limbs at the same time with a significant decrease in temperature in this limb (limbs), blueness of the fingertips and decreased or absent pain sensitivity. Also, the arterial pulse during palpation is reduced or absent. Significant or complete loss of reflexes and sensation in the paralyzed limb. The muscles become firmer.
Important distinctive feature thromboembolism from acute (for example, traumatic) spinal cord injury, which is also accompanied by paralysis or paresis of the limbs, is a decrease in local temperature and pallor (or blue tint) of the finger pads!
The development of neurological symptoms during thromboembolism is based on damage to nervous tissue as it is more sensitive to lack of oxygen. A few minutes after the blood supply is disrupted, signs of ischemia develop in the nervous tissue. The severity of thromboembolism can be judged by the degree of neurological disorders.
The diagnosis is made on the basis of clinical signs, history taking and additional research methods (biochemical blood test, ultrasound-Dopplerography of large abdominal vessels, ecg, echocardiography, x-ray, neurological examination, myelography, angiography).
Timely diagnosis of primary pathology makes it possible to prevent the development of complications. Thromboembolism of the aorta and pulmonary artery are the most dangerous conditions and often lead to the death of the animal. If the above-described clinical symptoms occur, it is necessary to urgently deliver the animal to the clinic as soon as possible, without wasting a minute! Take care of your pets, and they will reciprocate. You can ask your questions on our forum.
Veterinarian cardiologist
Blinova Elena Vladimirovna
Veterinary clinic Bambi.