The Relationship of Resting S-T Segment Depression to the Severity of Subvalvular Aortic Stenosis and the Presence of Ventricular Premature Complexes in the Dog

Electrocardiograms (ECG) from 35 dogs with subvalvular aortic stenosis (SAS) with a left ventricular outflow tract pressure gradient (PG) of ≥50 mm Hg were retrospectively evaluated for S-T segment depression (STD, ≥0.2 mV in lead II). Pressure gradient, age, heart rate (HR), and number of ventricular premature complexes (VPCs) on a 24-hour ambulatory ECG for dogs with STD were not significantly different from those for dogs without STD. The S-T segment deviation did not correlate significantly with PG, age, HR, or VPCs. The significance of STD in the dog with SAS remains uncertain. Long-term prospective studies are needed to fully understand this observation.