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Evidence of cardiac autonomic neuropathy in dogs with diabetes mellitus

¹ Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Lane, North Mymms, Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL9 7TA

The NeuroScope, a specific and sensitive indicator of cardiac vagal tone, was used to look for differences in autonomic tone between 25 dogs with naturally occurring diabetes mellitus and 23 healthy control dogs, to determine whether there was any correlation between the dogs' cardiac vagal tone, the duration of diabetes and the adequacy of glycaemic control. The cardiac index of parasympathetic activity (CIPA) was determined for each dog over a period of 2600 heartbeats. The mean, median and modal CIPA values were significantly lower in the diabetic dogs than in the healthy dogs. There was no significant relationship between the CIPA values and the duration of disease or the adequacy of recent glycaemic control in the diabetic dogs, but there was a significant inverse relationship between the CIPA values and the bodyweight of the diabetic dogs that was not evident in the normal dogs. The conclusions were based on a 500-heartbeat interval selected from the 2600 heartbeats recorded.