Cat having poor heart rate gets pacemaker, a ‘first for country’

A cat with a poor heart rate just got a pacemaker. The 7-year-old female, Pillu, underwent surgery to implant the pacemaker at a veterinary clinic in Pune on Monday. The cat’s heart rate was down to 50-something beats per minute as against the normal of 160. Still in hospital, Pillu is recovering well.Until two years back, it was routine for the agile feline to leap to the top of a cupboard at home, said Pillu’s pet parent Ajay Hirulkar. But at one point, Pillu struggled to even clamber onto a chair. Trouble began two years ago when the cat had gingivitis (infection of gums), and was diagnosed with myocarditis (heart inflammation), leading to DCM phenotype (thin heart muscles). But her heart rate was not badly affected then. Her medical history shows she had some infection that could have triggered the myrocarditis. Or, it could be due to a grain-free diet the cat was on. “These are likely contributory factors… But it’s difficult to pinpoint reason for the DCM,” said Dr Leila Fernandez, veterinary cardiologist.Last Aug, her ECG showed alarming changes, although cardiac output was normal. Alarm bells started to ring in March when the heart rate dropped to 50-58. “The cat had ‘third-degree AV block’. She had gone very dull and lethargic, and refused to eat,” said Dr Fernandez. “She had a complete heart block, a life-threatening condition due to the low heart rate.”Simply put, the heart’s natural pacemaker failed to maintain a stable rhythm. The upper chamber of the heart was not electrically connected to the lower. “The chambers were beating independent of each other,” said the vet.The surgery was performed by Dr Phiroz Khambatta with two doctors for humans – cardiothoracic surgeon Dr Rajesh Kaushish and interventional cardiologist Dr Sonali Inamdar – at Raintree Veterinary Clinic & Rehabilitation Centre, Pune.“The surgery was challenging… more because this cat has very thin ventricular walls,” Dr Fernandez said, adding that administering anaesthesia for the procedure was complicated in this case.The pacemaker has been implanted on the surface of the heart. For this, the chest was opened up, and the heart exposed. The layer covering the heart was opened, and two electrodes were sutured to the heart surface – one to the tip of the heart, the other just above it. A device called ‘generator’ has been implanted between the muscles of the flank. Six sutures were applied on the feline’s heart.This is likely the first instance of a pacemaker being implanted in a cat in our country, Dr Fernandez said, pointing out such a procedure is performed rarely even abroad. “This is a significant step forward for veterinary cardiology in India,” she said.For now, Pillu is on the road to recovery, her pet parent said, adding: “For me, she is not just a cat… she’s like a child of our family.”