Vetgirl Veterinary Continuing Education Podcasts

In this VETgirl podcast, we review the clinical utility of Holter monitoring in dogs with advanced myxomatous mitral valve disease with or without a history of syncope. Syncope - or fainting - is characterized by a transient loss of consciousness and is generally considered of cardiac or non-cardiac etiology (e.g., neurologic, pulmonary, etc.). Syncopal episodes typically have short duration, rapid recovery, and lack of aura or post-ictal phase. Causes for syncope secondary to cardiac causes is believed to be due to reduced blood flow/nutrient delivery to the brain and can occur for a variety of reasons in patients with cardiac disease. Arrhythmias (either bradyarrhythias or tachyarrhythmias) represent one category of etiologies of cardiac syncope. Determining the exact etiology of syncope via Holter monitoring can be challenging due to the sporadic nature of syncope as a clinical sign and the relatively short duration (24 hours) of most Holter monitor recordings. In other words, it's often hard to catch, eve