BACKGROUND Cardiac disease is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in Irish Wolfhounds (IWs), but its prevalence and clinical characteristics in North American IWs are incompletely described. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES That atrial fibrillation (AF) is a diagnostic marker of echocardiographic abnormalities, and that clinical characteristics predict development of IW cardiomyopathy (IWCM). To define the prevalence of arrhythmias and echocardiographic abnormalities in North American IWs. ANIMALS Six hundred and forty-five adult IWs presented for screening examinations intended to identify familial cardiac disease. METHODS In this retrospective cohort study, reference intervals defined based on echocardiographic data from IW classified as normal, were used to define the prevalence of structural and functional abnormalities. A logistic model was developed to identify clinical findings that predict future development of IWCM. RESULTS The prevalence of AF was 8.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 6.6-11.2) of which 55.5% had echocardiographic abnormalities. IWCM defined by left atrial enlargement, left ventricular dilatation, and systolic dysfunction had a prevalence of 1.8% (0.72-2.8). Positive and negative likelihood ratios for AF in the identification of IWCM were, respectively, 10.8 (7.29-16) and 0.2 (0.06-0.69). Multivariable logistic regression identified AF (odds ratio [OR]; 10.6, 95% CI, 2.67-42.3) and male sex (OR; 3.8, 95% CI, 1.02-14) as predictors of future development of IWCM. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE Atrial fibrillation is common in North American IW. It occurs in association with structural cardiac disease but also in its absence. Irish Wolfhounds cardiomyopathy is characterized by chamber enlargement but minimally decreased ejection phase indices of myocardial function. Atrial fibrillation is a risk factor for future development of IWCM.

中文翻译：

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北美爱尔兰猎犬的超声心动图和心电图评估。

背景技术心脏疾病是爱尔兰猎狼犬（IWs）发病和死亡的重要原因，但在北美IWs中其流行程度和临床特征并未得到完整描述。假设/目的心房颤动（AF）是超声心动图异常的诊断标志，并且临床特征可预测IW心肌病（IWCM）的发展。定义北美IW中心律失常和超声心动图异常的患病率。动物645例成人IW用于筛查旨在确定家族性心脏病的检查。方法在这项回顾性队列研究中，使用基于IW分类为正常的超声心动图数据定义的参考间隔来定义结构和功能异常的患病率。建立了逻辑模型以识别可预测IWCM未来发展的临床发现。结果AF的患病率为8.9％（95％的置信区间[CI]，6.6-11.2），其中55.5％的超声心动图异常。由左心房扩大，左心室扩张和收缩功能障碍定义的IWCM患病率为1.8％（0.72-2.8）。IWCM鉴别中AF的正和负似然比分别为10.8（7.29-16）和0.2（0.06-0.69）。多变量logistic回归确定AF（优势比[OR]； 10.6，95％CI，2.67-42.3）和男性（OR； 3.8，95％CI，1.02-14）是IWCM未来发展的预测指标。结论和临床意义心房颤动在北美IW中很常见。它与结构性心脏病有关，但也与它无关。爱尔兰猎狼犬心肌病的特征是室增大，但心肌功能的射血期指数下降最小。心房颤动是IWCM未来发展的危险因素。