Doctor TJ Morrison and the rest of Coast to Coasts Cardiology’s Veterinary Cardiologists are proud to volunteer their time and expertise at the Santa Barbara Zoo. Coast to Coast Cardiology team members bring state-of-the-art cardiac care to a variety of patients at the zoo, including rare and exotic species of lizards, penguins, foxes, monkeys, leopards, and lions.

"Pablo"’s story

"Pablo" is a 22 year old Titi monkey residing at the Santa Barbara Zoo. A heart murmur was detected on routine physical examination, so Dr. Morrison was called in to help determine the cause of the murmur. On echocardiograph (ultrasound of the heart), it was found that one of "Pablo"’s heart valves was irregular and had degenerated as a result of his advancing age. He was diagnosed with degenerative mitral valve disease. Luckily, the disease is still in its early stages, and "Pablo" requires no cardiac medications at this time. His handlers are keeping a close eye on him, and will alert the team at Coast to Coast Cardiology if "Pablo" begins coughing or has an increase in respiratory rate or effort while sleeping, which is a sensitive indicator of early congestive heart failure in our veterinary patients.

"Samantha's Story"

"Samantha" is the zoo’s female Amur Leopard. Amur Leopards are critically endangered, with only approximately 40-200 of these beautiful animals left in the wild. "Samantha" underwent a routine cardiac evaluation as part of the zoo’s preventive medicine program with routine physical examination of all body systems. On echocardiography (ultrasound of the heart), "Samantha" was diagnosed with Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM), which means that the heart does not pump blood as effectively as it normally should.

There are many causes for DCM in large cats, most commonly nutritional deficiencies in taurine, a lack of thyroid hormone or primary myocardial heart disease. "Samantha" was placed on taurine supplementations and Pimobendan, which she receives with her feedings. "Samantha" is doing well. Upon cardiac reevaluation a month later, Samatha’s heart function was dramatically improved on medication and supplementation.

For more information about the Santa Barbara Zoo, please visit http://www.sbzoo.org.