This video shows a massive clump of heartworms entangled around the tricuspid valve in the heart. The heartworms appear as two small, mobile, parallel lines in the top part of the video within the right ventricle and right atrium. The increased right-sided pressures are flattening the septum between the left and right ventricles, causing decreased left ventricular filling and decreased forward cardiac output to the systemic circulation. Treatment is emergency heartworm removal via cardiac catheterization and supportive care. Unfortunately, the mortality rate of this condition is high.
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