Have you ever waited patiently for ages at a bus stop, then had 2 buses appear within minutes of one another? I had a “similar” veterinary experience recently.

I was treating “Minky”, a cat, for heart problems. He had come in with breathing difficulties and fluid in his lungs. His heart was beating at a rate of 360 beats per minute – nearly 3 times normal!

I performed an ECG (electrocardiogram), which measures the electrical impulses that go through the heart and make it beat. I discovered that his heart was beating in an abnormal pattern known as ventricular tachycardia. I had never been presented with such a case in my 9 years in practice.

Two hours later, “Maggie”, a Cairn Terrier, was rushed into the surgery because she had suddenly collapsed at home. She had a heart rate of 300 beats per minute, and had previously been diagnosed as having a heart murmur.

Lo and behold, when I did an ECG on her, I found that Maggie was also in ventricular tachycardia! Because Maggie was so poorly, she needed emergency intravenous administration of drugs to convert the heart rhythm back to normal. She was then started on tablets to continue this, and to help her heart to function more easily.

Minky, on the other hand, was up and about despite his irregular rhythm, so we were able to use tablets alone to convert his rhythm disturbance, rather than needing intravenous treatment. Despite the serious nature of their problems, both patients are up and about and feeling well a few weeks after treatment began. Meanwhile, I am left wondering if these things come in threes, or whether I will have to wait a further 9 years to see another such case!

Geradine Young BVSc CertSAM MRCVS

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