Pedigree analysis of atrial fibrillation in Irish wolfhounds supports a high heritability with a dominant mode of inheritance

Samantha L Fousse,Joshua A Stern,William D Tyrrell,Frances L Abrams,Mariellen E Dentino,Steven L Rosenthal

doi:10.1186/s40575-019-0079-y

Samantha L Fousse, Joshua A Stern + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/s40575-019-0079-y

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Abstract

BackgroundAtrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in dogs. The Irish Wolfhound breed has a high prevalence of AF making them an ideal breed to investigate possible genetic contributions to this disease. The aim of this study was to perform a heritability analysis in North American Irish Wolfhounds using phenotype data from cardiac screenings performed between 2000 and 2019 in order to determine how much of this disease can be attributed to genetics compared to environmental causes. The second aim was to determine the disease mode of inheritance to help inform prevention and breeding practices.ResultsThere were 327 Irish Wolfhounds diagnosed with AF and 136 Irish Wolfhounds over 8 years of age without AF. The estimated mean (95% confidence interval) heritability of AF in Irish Wolfhounds was 0.69 (0.50–0.86). The pedigree was consistent with a dominant mode of inheritance.ConclusionResults of this study indicate a strong genetic contribution to AF in Irish Wolfhounds and suggest that future research to identify causative genetic mutations is warranted.

Highlights

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in dogs
The aim of this study was to perform a heritability analysis in North American Irish Wolfhounds to determine the genetic contribution to AF in the Irish Wolfhound breed
There were 327 (153 males, 174 females) Irish Wolfhounds diagnosed with AF

Summary

Introduction

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in dogs. The Irish Wolfhound breed has a high prevalence of AF making them an ideal breed to investigate possible genetic contributions to this disease. Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia in dogs [1]. The irregular frequency of ventricular contraction is due to the disorganized electrical activity of the atria [2]. This may result in reduced cardiac output leading to clinical signs such as exercise intolerance, fainting, and congestive heart failure [3]. When adjusting the prevalence for dogs with clinical heart disease, the prevalence of AF rises to 6.27–10.5% [4, 5] Certain dog breeds such as the Irish Wolfhound have a high

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