ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Anesthesiology and Animal Pain Management
This article is part of the Research TopicCardiac anaesthesia in veterinary medicine: recent advances and innovationView all 3 articles
Anaesthetic management and peri-operative complications in dogs undergoing cardiac electrophysiology studies and radio-frequency catheter ablations.
Provisionally accepted
- 1Davies Veterinary Specialists, Shillington, United Kingdom
- 2Davies Veterinary Specialists, Higham Gobion, United Kingdom
- 3The Ralph Veterinary Referral Centre, Marlow, United Kingdom
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Background: Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) refers to tachyarrhythmias that originate from areas at or above the atrioventricular (AV) node. Although SVT is relatively rare in dogs, it can be life-threatening. In both human and veterinary medicine, electrophysiology (EP) studies and radio-frequency catheter ablation (RFCA) are established methods for diagnosing and treating SVT. In canine patients, these procedures are performed under general anaesthesia, but the literature describing anaesthetic management and associated complications is limited. Objectives: This study aimed to describe anaesthetic management and evaluate peri-operative complications in dogs undergoing EP studies and RFCA for SVT at a single UK referral hospital. Methods: A retrospective review was conducted of medical and anaesthetic records from 44 dogs treated between 2014 and 2024. Data collected included breed, age, clinical presentation, anaesthetic drugs and techniques, intraoperative and postoperative complications. Results: Labrador Retrievers were the most represented breed (47.7%), with a mean age of 30 months (range: 5–95 months). Anaesthetic protocols involved premedication with methadone, with or without acepromazine, induction using propofol or alfaxalone, and maintenance with isoflurane in oxygen and air. Intraoperative complications were common and included arrhythmias (97.7%), hypoventilation (84.1%), hypotension (65.1%), hypothermia (47.7%), and non-fatal cardiopulmonary arrest (6.8%). Cardiovascular support was required in 75% of cases, using fluids, anticholinergics, vasopressors, and inotropes. The most frequent arrhythmias were SVT (97.7%), atrial fibrillation (13.9%), and ventricular tachycardia (5.6%). Postoperative complications occurred in 22.7% of dogs, mostly mild gastrointestinal signs and arrhythmias. One dog died postoperatively, resulting in a mortality rate of 2.27%. Discussion: Severe complications and peri-operative mortality were uncommon, and overall outcomes were favourable. Careful anaesthetic planning, consideration of the severity of underlying cardiac disease, and preparedness for cardiopulmonary emergencies are recommended to optimise patient management and outcomes.
Keywords: Veterinary anaesthesia, supraventricular tachycardia, Electrophysiology, Radio-frequency catheter ablation, arrhythmia < cardiovascular
Received: 01 Oct 2025; Accepted: 10 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wringe, Boustead, Iovanescu, Barron and Downing. 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: Elliot James Wringe, e.wringe@outlook.com
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