Assessment of mechanical ventricular synchrony in Doberman Pinschers with dilated cardiomyopathy Jordi Lo´pez-Alvarez, LltVet, MRCVS a, *, Sonja Fonfara, Dr Med Vet, MRCVS a,b , Brigite Pedro, DVM, MRCVS a , Hannah Stephenson, BVMS, MRCVS a , Peter J. Cripps, BSc, BVSc, MSc, PhD, MRCVS c , Joanna Dukes-McEwan, BV, MS, MVM, PhD, MRCVS a,b a Small Animal Teaching Hospital, University of Liverpool, School of Veterinary Science, Leahurst, Chester High Road, Neston, CH64 7TE, UK b Department of Musculoskeletal Biology, Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease, University of Liverpool, Leahurst, Chester High Road, Neston, CH64 7TE, UK c Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, University of Liverpool, School of Veterinary Science, Leahurst, Chester High Road, Neston, CH64 7TE, UK Received 4 November 2010; received in revised form 30 April 2011; accepted 2 May 2011 KEYWORDS Canine; Tissue Doppler imaging; Electromechanical delay; Ventricular synchrony; Dyssynchrony Abstract Objectives: Loss of temporal synchrony of myocardial contraction has been shown to reduce systolic function and be responsible for disease progression in people. The objective of this study is the assessment of inter- and intra ventricular synchrony in healthy Doberman Pinschers and those with dilated cardio- myopathy (DCM) by use of conventional Doppler and tissue velocity imaging. Animals: A total of 60 scans from 35 client-owned Doberman Pinschers presented for cardiac evaluation were analysed. Methods: Retrospective analysis of data. Using the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology DCM taskforce scoring system, Doberman Pinschers were classified into 4 groups: Control (Group 1; n ¼ 12), depressed systolic function other than DCM (Group 2; n ¼ 9), preclinical DCM (Group 3; n ¼ 8) and symptomatic DCM (Group 4; n ¼ 6). The time intervals between the beginning of the QRS complex and the peak velocity of pulmonic flow (Q-P) and the peak aortic flow (Q-Ao) were used to assess global synchrony between both ventricles. The time intervals between the beginning of the QRS complex and the peak myocardial systolic velocity (Q-peak * Corresponding author. Present address: The Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Lane, North Mymms, Hatfield, Herts, AL9 7TA, UK. E-mail address: jlopezalvarez@rvc.ac.uk (J. Lo ´pez-Alvarez). 1760-2734/$ - see front matter ª 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jvc.2011.05.003 Journal of Veterinary Cardiology (2011) 13, 183e195 www.elsevier.com/locate/jvc