Time-frequency and complexity analyses for differentiation of physiologic murmurs from heart murmurs caused by aortic stenosis in boxers

Abstract

Objective - To investigate whether time-frequency and complexity analyses of heart murmurs can be used to differentiate physiologic murmurs from murmurs caused by aortic stenosis (AS) in Boxers. Animals - 27 Boxers with murmurs. Procedures - Dogs were evaluated via auscultation and echocardiography. Analyses of time-frequency properties (TFPs; ie, maximal murmur frequency and duration of murmur frequency > 200 Hz) and correlation dimension (T2) of murmurs were performed on phonocardiographic sound data. Time-frequency property and T2 analyses of low-intensity murmurs in 16 dogs without AS were performed at 7 weeks and 12 months of age. Additionally, TFP and T2 analyses were performed on data obtained from 11 adult AS-affected dogs with murmurs. Results - In dogs with low-intensity murmurs, TFP or T2 values at 7 weeks and 12 months did not differ significantly. For differentiation of physiologic murmurs from murmurs caused by mild AS, duration of murmur frequency > 200 Hz was useful and the combination assessment of duration of frequency > 200 Hz and T2 of the murmur had a sensitivity of 94% and a specificity of 82%. Maximal murmur frequency did not differentiate dogs with AS from those without AS. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance - Results suggested that assessment of the duration of murmur frequency > 200 Hz can be used to distinguish physiologic heart murmurs from murmurs caused by mild AS in Boxers. Combination of this analysis with T2 analysis may be a useful complementary method for diagnostic assessment of cardiovascular function in dogs.