Synonyms

No consecrated treme

Name of the disease in English

Heart congenital defects of unknown origin

The disease in brief

Congenital heart lesions are quite common in cattle.

Their primary cause (genetic, infectious, toxic) is often unknown; a hereditary origin is possible, but not systematic and rarely identified with precision. 

Depending on the nature of the lesions and their functional impact, the evolution

• is very rapidly lethal (mortality within minutes to hours after birth),
• allows limited survival, from a few days to a few weeks, either with progressive degradation until natural death, or stabilization at a stage of “non-economic value”,

allows almost normal survival, for several years, without any particular suspicion.

Clinic & diagnosis

The warning signs of congenital heart disease combine the age of onset (newborn, growing calf) and various symptoms, breathing difficulties, cyanosis of the mucous membranes, and, on cardiac auscultation, often increased frequency and added sounds (murmur).

Complications of heart failure can be detected clinically: jugular distension, edema of subcutaneous tissue, natural cavities, liver hypertrophy, growth retardation.

Lesions other than cardiac or disorders of different metabolisms are also possible and, in certain cases, their combination can point towards a more precise primary cause (genetic, infectious, toxic).

Typical sign of the disease

No description

Pictures

See below

Diagnostic formulas

No description

Differential diagnosis

Bronchopneumonia

Anemia

Confirm a suspicion?

Ultrasound and autopsy can confirm a clinical suspicion and specify (to varying degrees) the nature of the lesions, without providing more precise information on the primary cause (genetic, toxic, infectious, etc.).

Prognosis and treatment

Incurable anatomical anomalies

Prevention

No specific prevention

References

Veterinary Medicine-Pocket companion -9th Edition BLOOD DC-page 137