Cardiopatia congênita em filhote de Tamanduá-bandeira (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) de vida livre

Abstract

The giant anteater is classified as vulnerable on the IUCN red list. The alteration and fragmentation of this habitat due to agriculture are factors responsible for the population decline. In puppies, the survival rate in captivity is 50%. In this species, the most well-known cardiac pathology is dilated cardiomyopathy due to deficiency of taurine in the diet, but this report aims to describe a case of congenital heart disease in a puppy of this species. The animal in question had grade 5 systolic murmur in the left hemithorax during physical examination. On radiography, generalized cardiomegaly was seen, and on echocardiography, pulmonary stenosis with hypertrophy in the right ventricle and tricuspid stenosis, being a fundamental exam in the diagnosis of the condition. In the macroscopic examination of the heart, a mass characterized as fibrosis was found in histopathological analysis, which caused severe pulmonary valve obstruction, right ventricular thickening and tricuspid thickening, being an unprecedented case in the literature.