This study aimed to prospectively investigate the hypothesis that myocardial energy metabolism changes in the early stages of feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) by evaluating the blood carnitine profiles. Fourteen client owned cats with HCM stage B1 and 22 clinically healthy cats were included in this study. Total-carnitine, free-carnitine, acylcarnitine, and acylcarnitine/free-carnitine ratio (AF ratio) in serum were measured in both groups. No significant differences were observed in total-carnitine, free-carnitine, and acylcarnitine concentrations between the groups. However, the AF ratio in the HCM group was significantly lower than that of the control group (P=0.02). The lower serum AF ratio in cats with early-stage HCM, may suggest an alteration in their myocardial energy metabolism.
Keywords: acquired heart disease; cardiac energetics; feline cardiology; pathophysiology.