East Coast Veterinary Cardiology (ECVC) is a mobile veterinary cardiology service that provides comprehensive cardiac evaluations to veterinarians throughout the HRM and immediate surrounding regions. As we are mobile, we travel directly to your hospital and provide our services in-house. This eliminates the requirement for travel (and extra expense) for your client and patient for a cardiac evaluation which can be stressful (on both owner and pet!). In many cases, this also eliminates the requirement for your client to take time off from work or miss other commitments which may enhance client compliance and interest in seeking specialty cardiac care.
We realize that your day in the hospital is busy (appointments, surgeries, phone calls, etc.) – we offer the option for either drop-off consultations around your schedule or appointments where Dr. Orr can meet directly with your clients as well. You will receive a detailed report within 24 hours of the assessment which includes a comprehensive background of the underlying disease, treatment recommendations, prognosis and recommendations for follow-up. We realize that your top priority is offering high quality patient care – using ECVC as an extension of your practice will complement the excellent care you already provide to your clients and patients. We are always available to you following each consultation to discuss any questions or concerns that may arise over time and provide appropriate recommendations to ensure an optimal outcome for your patient. Should your client have questions that arise regarding their pet’s heart disease, we are always available to discuss these questions directly with you to ensure that continuity of care is maintained.
Our passion is to provide collaborative care with referring veterinarians in an attempt to improve outcomes for animals with heart disease. In fact, animals diagnosed with congestive heart failure can live longer when their disease is managed collaboratively. In a retrospective study, median survival times were longer for patients with congestive heart failure secondary to degenerative mitral valve disease when co-managed by a board-certified cardiologist and primary care veterinarian together (Lefbom BK, Peckens, NL. JAVMA 2016; 249:72-76). In addition, early diagnosis of some forms of heart disease with appropriate medical management can delay the onset of clinical signs in these patients – this has been shown in the PROTECT study in Dobermans with occult dilated cardiomyopathy as well as the EPIC study in smaller breed dogs with moderate degenerative mitral valve disease.
We have developed a large information source on our website for pet owners to explore with additional information on heart disease in animals, medications used and monitoring tips. We find that when a pet owner is better educated about their pet’s heart disease, the outcome can be improved. This is because they are better equipped to know the signs to watch for and when to seek re-evaluation.
If you have any questions about our service or would like to register your practice with our mobile cardiology service, please contact us.
