Stop the Clot! Diagnosis, Treatment and Prevention of Feline Thromboembolic Disease
1.0 CE Credit Hour / Rebecca Saunders, DVM, MS, DACVIM (Cardiology)
Rebecca Saunders, DVM, MS, DACVIM
Charleston Veterinary Referral Center,
rebeccassaunders@gmail.com
https://www.charlestonvrc.com/staff/rebecca-saunders-dvm-ms-dacvim-cardiology
Dr. Rebecca Saunders grew up in Chicago and attended Washington University in St. Louis for her undergraduate degree in Biology. She then went on to attend veterinary school at the University of Missouri. She completed her small animal medical and surgical rotating internship at The Ohio State University and was then accepted into a cardiology residency at Purdue University.
After completion of her residency in 2018, she practiced as a board-certified cardiologist in St. Louis for 4 years. After visiting Charleston on vacation, she fell in love with the city and knew her heart was pulling her to the South. She happily joined CVRC in December 2022 and is excited to join forces with Dr. Jesty to care for all the Charleston cardiac patients! Her clinical cardiology interests include feline cardiomyopathies, arrhythmia management in dogs and cats, and caring for chronic congestive heart failure patients.
Overview:
Cats presenting for aortic thrombembolism are often given a grave prognosis and owners elect to euthanize. This session will encourage clinicians to consider hospitalization and treatment for those patients that may have a fairer prognosis. In this session, we will review hemostasis as a foundation for understanding the diagnostics, treatment and prognosis of feline thromboembolic disease. We will hone in on monitoring and treatment of reperfusion injury, often the major hurdle to getting these cats out of hospital. We will also review the antiplatelet and anticoagulant medications on the market and the studies in cats from FAT CAT to SUPER CAT.
Learning Objectives:
- List presenting physical exam findings in a patient with a saddle thrombus
- Investigate underlying cardiac or noncardiac causes of thromboembolic disease in cats
- Develop a comprehensive treatment plan including analgesia, antithrombotics, heart failure medications if indicated and plan for reperfusion injury
This course is RACE-approved for 1.0 continuing education credits hours in jurisdictions that accept RACE-approval.
