Cardiology

Referral not required

Our cardiology team is dedicated to helping your cat, dog, horse, and other pets live longer and healthier lives. Our board-certified veterinarians, residents, and technicians are skilled in diagnosing and providing therapeutic options to manage heart disease and are ready to provide the best medical and compassionate care for your pet as you navigate often complex heart health issues.

WSU also offers Holter monitoring to assess an animal patient’s heart rhythm and rate. The Holter monitor is a portable electrocardiogram (ECG), which records the electrical activity of the heart continuously over 24 hours.

Common conditions we evaluate and treat

Congestive heart failure
Degenerative valve disease (endocardiosis)
Cardiomyopathy
Congenital heart disease

Pericardial disease
Cardiac neoplasia
Hypertension
Arrhythmias

Health care services we offer

Doppler echocardiography (ultrasound)
Digital radiography
Electrocardiography
Blood pressure measurements
24-hour ECG (Holter) monitors
Evaluation and treatment of all species
Cardiac certifications for breeding animals
Interventional cardiac surgery (pacemakers, balloon valvuloplasty, and vascular occlusion devices)

Hospital Stories

Rescue puppy overcomes heart defect, finds forever home with WSU veterinarian

A puppy saved from a hoarding situation has overcome a life-threatening heart defect and found a forever home with the WSU veterinarian who first stepped in as his medical foster.

WSU veterinarians restore dog’s heart, give owner more time with best friend

A life-saving pacemaker procedure at WSU’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital helped an aging dog regain her strength and stay by her owner’s side after a dangerous heart condition.

Q&A with cardiology resident Dr. Anna Golden

Dr. Anna Golden’s path to veterinary cardiology began at Washington State University, where she earned her DVM and first discovered the field that would capture her interest. Now in her third year of a cardiology residency at WSU’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital, she is also pursuing a master’s degree in Veterinary Clinical and Translational Sciences.

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Health Topics

Boutique diets and heart disease Recent studies suggest dogs may process boutique diets differently.
Heart valve malfunction in dogs (mitral insufficiency) Many dogs slowly develop degenerative thickening and progressive deformity of one or more heart valves as they age. In time, these changes cause the valve, most commonly the mitral valve, to leak. While it can lead to heart failure, many dogs with the condition never show signs of the disease outside of a loud heart […]
Heart disease in cats (Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy) Some helpful information about the most common type of heart disease in cats.

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Clinical Studies

Any current clinical studies for this service will be listed below.

Dog aging project TRIAD study Trial of Rapamycin in Aging Dogs

View all clinical studies

Your gift supports cardiology care for all animals in our hospital.

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