Carstens Ann, Dutton Geoffrey J, Stannard Hayley J, Birckhead Alice, Barkman William D, Connolly Joanne H
School of Agricultural, Environmental and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia.
Department of Companion Animal Clinical Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, Gauteng, South Africa.
Vet Radiol Ultrasound. 2025 Sep;66(5):e70079. doi: 10.1111/vru.70079.
Habitat loss, road trauma, predation, disease, and natural disasters impact the health and survival of the family Macropodidae, including kangaroos. Cardiac disease has been reported, including hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), nutritional myodegeneration, valvular pathology, cardiovascular parasites, toxoplasmosis, and toxicities. Human research has evaluated macropod pericardium and aortic valves as possible bioprostheses. The goals of this prospective anatomic study were to echocardiographically evaluate opportunistically presented kangaroos: 14 clinically normal eastern grey kangaroos (EGK-Macropus giganteus), two sick EGKs, and one sick red kangaroo (RK, Osphranter rufus). Similar techniques as described in the dog were used. Standard B-mode images, M-mode mensuration, and Doppler measurements were attained; values were descriptively compared with published normal values. The clinically normal animals' M-mode values were similar to the closest weight-related kangaroo values. Most of the animals showed thicker-than-expected left ventricular and interventricular septal walls, and relative wall thickness (RWT) of 0.5 and 0.6; this may be the norm for macropods, but since an RWT>0.45 may indicate human HCM, this should be considered in the kangaroo. The sick animals were euthanized. Necropsy revealed highly suspect HCM in one EGK, and myxomatous mitral valve degeneration with suspect DCM in the other EGK and RK. In conclusion, there are weight-related similarities between previously published kangaroo values. More work is required on a larger number of weight and age cohorts of kangaroos. Subclinical HCM may be present in apparently normal animals. Findings can be used during clinical health assessments and for further research into macropod cardiac conditions.
栖息地丧失、道路创伤、捕食、疾病和自然灾害影响着包括袋鼠在内的袋鼠科动物的健康和生存。已有心脏病的相关报道，包括肥厚型心肌病（HCM）、扩张型心肌病（DCM）、营养性肌变性、瓣膜病变、心血管寄生虫、弓形虫病和中毒。人体研究已评估袋鼠的心包和主动脉瓣作为可能的生物假体。这项前瞻性解剖学研究的目的是通过超声心动图对机会性出现的袋鼠进行评估：14只临床正常的东部灰袋鼠（EGK，大袋鼠属）、2只患病的东部灰袋鼠和1只患病的红袋鼠（RK，赤大袋鼠）。采用了与犬类描述相似的技术。获得了标准B模式图像、M模式测量值和多普勒测量值；将这些值与已发表的正常值进行描述性比较。临床正常动物的M模式值与最接近体重相关的袋鼠值相似。大多数动物的左心室和室间隔壁比预期的厚，相对壁厚度（RWT）为0.5和0.6；这可能是袋鼠的正常情况，但由于RWT>0.45可能表明人类患有HCM，因此在袋鼠中应予以考虑。患病动物被实施安乐死。尸检显示，一只东部灰袋鼠高度怀疑患有HCM，另一只东部灰袋鼠和红袋鼠患有黏液瘤性二尖瓣变性并怀疑患有DCM。总之，先前发表的袋鼠值之间存在与体重相关的相似性。需要对更多体重和年龄组的袋鼠进行更多研究。亚临床HCM可能存在于看似正常的动物中。这些发现可用于临床健康评估以及对袋鼠心脏状况的进一步研究。
