Non-electrocardiography- and electrocardiography-gated computed tomography angiography for the evaluation of feline coronary arteries

Junyoung Kim; Dae-Hyun Kim; Kitae Kim; Dayoung Oh; Junghee Yoon

doi:10.3389/fvets.2022.952412

Non-electrocardiography- and electrocardiography-gated computed tomography angiography for the evaluation of feline coronary arteries

Front Vet Sci. 2022 Aug 3:9:952412. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2022.952412. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Junyoung Kim^{1

2}, Dae-Hyun Kim³, Kitae Kim⁴, Dayoung Oh⁴, Junghee Yoon²

Affiliations

¹ Helix Animal Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea.
² College of Veterinary Medicine and the Research Institute for Veterinary Science, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea.
³ College of Veterinary Medicine, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, South Korea.
⁴ BIEN Animal Medical Center, Bucheon, South Korea.

Abstract

Objectives: Few studies have directly compared the clinical feasibility of electrocardiography-gated and non-electrocardiography-gated multidetector computed tomography for evaluating coronary arteries in veterinary medicine. We aimed to characterize and visualize feline coronary arteries using these two imaging modalities. We hypothesed that ECG-gated MDCT is superior to or advantageous to the non-ECG gated.

Methods: This prospective, controlled, comparative pilot study examined six client-owned cats (five clinically normal and one with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) using non-electrocardiography-gated and retrospective electrocardiography-gated scans. Optimal non-electrocardiography scan timing or electrocardiography-gated R-R reconstruction interval for coronary artery visualization was determined. The degree of opacification and sharpness of proximal coronary branches was subjectively graded; coronary dominance, left coronary artery branching types, and the diameter and length of coronary artery branches were also assessed.

Results: Non-electrocardiography-gated images provided the least information on the bilateral coronary artery ostium and proximal segments, while electrocardiography-gated images clarified the detailed course of the main coronary branches at diastole in all cats. The degree of opacification and sharpness of the coronary arteries was subjectively evaluated as good/excellent in all cats. Coronary dominance (left: four; right: two) and left coronary artery branching types (three different patterns, two additional tortuous branches) varied. Body weight and sex were not significantly associated with coronary artery length or diameter. Vertebral heart score positively correlated with the right coronary artery and negatively correlated with the left main coronary artery.

Clinical significance: Electrocardiography-gated multidetector computed tomography provides images with adequate resolution to identify the anatomy of feline coronary arteries. Detailed morphological knowledge of feline coronary vessels will enable novel diagnostic and therapeutic methods in veterinary medicine.

Keywords: cardiomyopathy; circumflex; paraconal branch; septal branch; vertebral heart score.