The Animal Heartbeat

Message our hosts, Kieran and Jose.
What skills do you need to be a feline cardiologist? Does a feline focused cardiologist have a particular personality type? Join our hosts, Jose and Kieran, LIVE from the World Feline Congress 2026, to discuss how we can think like a cat cardiologist and use this to benefit our patients and maximise the potential of diagnostic tests.

Message our hosts, Kieran and Jose.
Ventricular arrhythmias pose a challenge for all clinicians that face cardiac cases. Although many people are familiar with lidocaine as a first-line drug, there is more complexity in decision making for most dogs beyond the first hour after presentation. Dr Manuela Perego, a European Diplomate in Small Animal Cardiology who is based at the Clinic Veterinaria Malpensa in Milan, Italy, joins us in this episode to guide us through her approach to ventricular arrhythmias in dogs, and update us on her latest research into this fascinating topic. A MUST listen for all cardiology interested clinicians!

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In the 2020s, 3-dimensional echocardiography has become increasingly important for accurate planning of interventional and hybrid surgical procedures, but does this technique have applicability to centres without a surgical bias? Professor Giulio Menciotti has a passion for veterinary echocardiography, and exceptional experience with 3D echo in the clinical and research settings at Virginia Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. In this episode, Dr Menciotti shares his experience of learning and refining 3D echo techniques with listeners of The Animal Heartbeat, and considers what the future might hold for expanding the use of these techniques in clinical practice.

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Arterial thromboembolism in cats is one of the most challenging presentations that we encounter in veterinary cardiology - sudden onset, extremely painful, and associated with a high mortality rate related to the complications of ischaemic neuromyopathy. Trying to better understand the optimal prevention and treatment of ATE in cats has led to uncovering a wealth of data on platelet function in veterinary species. At the forefront of this research, is the Li Comparative Platelet and Neutrophil Physiology Laboratory, based at North Carolina State University. Led by Professor Ronald Li, also an ACVECC Diplomate in Emergency and Critical Care, their research has expanded our knowledge about facing these tough cases in the clinic. In this fascinating episode, Dr Li joins our hosts, Jose and Kieran, to discuss the current thoughts on treatment and prevention of ATE in cats, and what the future might hold.

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Transoesophageal echocardiography (TOE, or TEE if you're of the American English persuasion!) is an increasingly accessible imaging modality for cardiologists in clinical practice. Over the past decade, using TOE as a routine part of patent ductus arteriosus occlusion procedures has become more common in large centres, but great advances in our appreciation of interventional decision making have come from the experiences of Prof Brianna Potter and the team at Colorado State University. Since 2021, they have been using TOE as an essential component of the mitral valve transcatheter edge-to-edge repair procedure. Join our hosts, Jose and Kieran, as they discuss the use of TOE in clinical practice with Prof Potter, and how interventional imaging has become a vital role for the cardiologist in 2026.