IWCT Heart Testing Session
The Irish Wolfhound Charitable Trust trustees would like to publicly thank Angela Bodey for giving up her free time and expert services to act as a cardiologist for the heart testing session held at Newstead in Nottingham on Saturday 25th September. The screening session was organised in response to requests from local owners who had struggled to get some hounds hearts tested in the past year. 13 Irish Wolfhounds were tested on the day ranging in age from 18 months to 9 years.
Due to ongoing Covid restrictions, no sessions were available in the east midlands region at the usual venue of Nottingham Vet School. All the results of heart testing carried out under the breed scheme feed into the database held by Dr Serena Brownlie and the University of Nottingham. Therefore, not only does heart testing benefit individual Wolfhounds and their owners, it also contributes to the research into heart disease in Wolfhounds and benefits the breed as a whole, which is one of the IWCT’s main objectives.
The heart testing breed scheme is a huge bonus and should be cherished by all Wolfhound owners, and it is envied by many other breeds who do not have access to this type of testing. The scheme itself relies on the participation and support of several veterinary cardiologists, and the Irish Wolfhound Health Group coordinate testing sessions up and down the country annually. A three-stage heart test (consisting of stethoscope, ECG and ultrasound scan) would usually cost in excess of £500 per dog for a cardiology referral appointment, so the subsidised charge of £75 per dog (the IWHG also offers veterans over the age of 8 one free heart test per year) means that testing is affordable and accessible to most owners. We would encourage all owners to take advantage of the heart testing scheme. The research from test results has already produced some valuable data, with the longer-term aim being to identify those genes responsible for heart disease in our beloved breed.
Finally, thank you to all the owners that brought their Wolfhounds along to be tested at this session and we would encourage any owner to participate in any of the breed testing schemes. It is very important that owners take a copy of the heart test certificate and give it to their first opinion/general practice vet, regardless of whether the testing showed up any potential issues or not. It is vital for the future health and development of the breed that owners heart test their hounds annually from the age of 18 months onwards and continue to test all the way through the dog’s life.