Contrast echocardiography to assess left ventricular volume and function in Beagle dogs: comparison with 3-Tesla dual source parallel cardiac magnetic resonance imaging.

This study was performed to evaluate the effect and feasibility of contrast echocardiography (CE) compared with unenhanced echocardiography (UE) and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI) to assess left ventricular (LV) volume and function, including end-diastolic volume (EDV), end-systolic volume (ESV), stroke volume (SV), and ejection fraction (EF) in six healthy Beagles. When the dogs were conscious, LV measurements using CE were significantly higher than those obtained using UE, except for EF, and were similar to the values obtained using CMRI. Additionally, EDV, SV, and EF obtained using UE from anesthetized dogs were significantly lower than those obtained using CE or CMRI. Measurements of EDV, SV and EF using CE were not significantly different from the corresponding measurements obtained using CMRI (31.13±2.18 vs. 32.88±1.17 mL, 18.41±1.25 vs. 17.92±0.96 mL, 59.29±2.29% vs. 53.33±1.69%, respectively). Inter-observer agreements for UE (0.74±0.05) were lower than those for CE (0.80±0.04) and CMRI (0.92±0.03). In conclusion, LV function was assessed reproducibly using CE, and the measurements obtained were consistent with reference standard measurements obtained using CMRI. Measurements made using CE agreed more closely with CMRI than those made using UE.