Echocardiographic classification of dogs with aortic stenosis: potential utility of a novel staging system

Introduction Severity of aortic stenosis (AS) in humans is classified using a staging system based on two-dimensional echocardiographic changes, which considers the extent of global cardiac damage. Currently, classification of canine AS is based on trans-aortic pressure gradient (PG) alone. This study aimed to retrospectively classify dogs with AS based on an adapted human staging system, exploring feasibility of classification and the association between stage and features such as PG and clinical signs. Animals 87 client-owned dogs. Materials and methods Clinical and echocardiographic data were retrieved from computerised records. Dogs were classified according to a modified human staging system (stages 0/1/2+). Descriptive statistics were explored. Differences in signalment, PG and clinical signs between stages were evaluated using appropriate statistical tests. Significance was identified if P