CASE REPORT article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Medicine
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1672336
This article is part of the Research TopicRecent Advances in the Management of Cardiac Disease in Companion AnimalsView all 3 articles
Case report: a newly described form of fixed subaortic stenosis in a feline patient
Provisionally accepted
- University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
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Fixed subaortic stenosis as a congenital heart defect has been reported in a relatively small number of cases. The classic description of feline subaortic stenosis reflects the presence of a fibrous ring just underneath the aortic valve. The present case has a unique morphological aspect, analogous with a rare human stenosis. A 15 months old, ESH female presented with an anamnesis consisting of respiratory distress, apathy, and anorexia. The clinical examination displayed a patient with lethargy and severe dyspnea, whilst lung auscultation identified generalized bilateral pulmonary crackles. A systolic IV/VI parasternal murmur was identified on the left thorax, while the murmur intensity on the right side was III/VI. Electrocardiogram showed a sinus rhythm interrupted by ventricular ectopic beats. Two-dimensional (2D) echocardiography revealed a concentric hypertrophy of the left ventricle, with severe left atrium enlargement and mild pleural and pericardial effusion. A subaortic, hyperechoic structure was seen from the right parasternal five-chamber view, accompanied by a poststenotic aortic dilatation. The aortic peak velocity was 5.2 m/s, a feature that characterizes the severe form of aortic stenosis. The cat died shortly after presentation and necropsy was performed. Subaortic stenosis was confirmed on gross examination. The structure that induced stenosis of the left ventricle outflow tract (LVOT) had the appearance of a rudimental valve with moderator bands attached. Microscopically it contains fibrous and smooth muscular tissue and cardiac conduction fibers. This type of subaortic stenosis resembles the cushion-like pseudovalve type described only in human cardiology. This is the first case describing clinical signs, ECG, echocardiography and histopathological findings in a cat with cushion-like pseudovalve subaortic stenosis. Fixed subaortic stenosis is a rare congenital disease in cats, which should be taken into consideration in young cats with dyspnea and left ventricular hypertrophy.
Keywords: Fixed subaortic stenosis, cushion-like pseudovalve, rare, feline, case report
Received: 24 Jul 2025; Accepted: 15 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Cerbu, Constantin, Scurtu, Cerbu and Flaviu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Constantin Cerbu, constantin.cerbu@usamvcluj.ro
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