Cardiac ultrasonography is the gold standard of diagnostics in veterinary cardiology. At WTVS we are able to examine the heart with ultrasound to look for valvular disease (such as mitral valve disease in small dogs), dilated cardiomyopathy (generally large dogs), hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (cats), and cardiac/pericardial masses as well as other acquired cardiac conditions. Sedation is only rarely needed to perform echocardiography; in fact, it is usually preferable not to sedate patients so as not to interfere with cardiac rate, rhythm, and contractility.
NOTE: In some cases, particularly those with unusual heart disease, the patient may need to be referred to a veterinary cardiologist for more specialized evaluation.