ADVERTORIAL
Exploring the Latest
Evidence Based Medicine in
Veterinary Cardiology
Every 4 years, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health hosts an International Cardiology Veterinary
Symposium (ICVS), and explores the forefront of modern veterinary cardiology.
The ICVS, held in Dubrovnik, Croatia, 21-23 October 2016,
was well attended by over 280 vets. The South African delegation included Leon Muller (Boehringer Ingelheim’s National Sales Manager), Dr. Frank Kettner (Tygerberg Animal Hospital), Dr. Tanya Schoeman (Cape Animal Medical Centre),
Dr. Phil Rees (Westville Veterinary Hospital), Dr. Alain Carter
(Fourways Veterinary Hospital) and Dr. Paulo Pazzi (University of Pretoria, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Small Animal
Medicine).
The event was organised with the assistance of a distinguished scientific programme committee that included the
lead investigators of the recently published EPIC (Evaluation
of Pimobendan in Cardiomegaly) Study:
• Professor Adrian Boswood, Department of Veterinary
Clinical Sciences, The Royal Veterinary College, London, UK
• Professor Sonya Gordon, Department of Small Animal
Clinical Science, Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, USA
• Professor Jens Häggström, Department of Veterinary
Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural
Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
The programme explored a variety of topics:
• Recent veterinary cardiology research
• Developments in preclinical myxomatous mitral valve
disease (MMVD) and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM)
• New findings in MMVD and DCM
The South African Specialists who attended the ICVS ’16, had
the following comments to make about the overall symposium content and the EPIC trial presented to them by the lead
investigators:
Dr. Tanya Schoeman:
"The content of the symposium was exceptional. I thought
the EPIC trial was a very well designed study with convincing
evidence to change the way we approach preclinical cardiac
cases. The EPIC trial results are a complete game changer. I
will now urge all clients to start pimobendan treatment in all
cases of preclinical cardiac disease in dogs. I would definitely
like to see more studies in cats!”
vet360
Issue 06 | DECEMBER 2016 | 22
Dr. Alain Carter
“The ICVS allows exchange of ideas and discussions
around current topics in veterinary cardiology. The
most common heart condition in veterinary science
is mitral valve disease and this was discussed in detail
with regards to past and present recommendations.
A look at future interventional therapies with valve replacements was fascinating, although still many years
way from clinical application. Some early research is
going on around serotonin blockers in stopping the
inflammatory processes around the development of
valvular degeneration in the very early stages. The use
of pimobendan in cats was discussed and this holds
some promise. A survey amongst the delegates looking at the clinical approach to management of heart
disease was interesting and gave a worldwide perspective to our position in South Africa.”
“The EPIC trial results were discussed in detail. The
results are profound with regards to how we are going
to manage mitral valve disease in dogs currently and
into the future. The QUEST trial which was released
in 2008 confirmed that pimobendan is essential in the
management of congestive heart failure associated
with mitral valve disease. The EPIC trial which was
the largest veterinary trial to date looked at the use of
pimobendan in the preclinical stages of mitral valve
disease and it showed that its use in Stage B2 delayed
the onset of heart failure for an average of 15 months.
Considering that the average life expectance of a patient with congestive heart failure secondary to mitral
valve disease is 1 year delaying this development by 15
months is huge.”
Dr. Frank Kettner
“The symposium was a fantastic experience, well organised and delivered high quality content with the
best of the best specialists in cardiology giving us
great insight in the way they treat heart failure in dogs
and cats. The EPIC study now finally gives us evidence
based guidelines to treat dogs with mitral valve insufficiency in the preclinical setting. This will certainly help
us guide our clients in making treatment decisions.”