What is a Veterinary Cardiologist? What does it mean to be "board certified"?

Like your own primary care physician, your pet’s primary care veterinarian serves as the first stop for their healthcare needs. These individuals have completed a four-year postgraduate program to become Doctors of Veterinary Medicine. They perform preventative medicine and treat a broad variety of acute and chronic health conditions. However, on occasion, your primary veterinarian may not have the tools needed to diagnose or treat some specific or advanced conditions. In these cases, your veterinarian may refer your pet to a board-certified specialist.

A veterinary specialist is a veterinarian who, after completing their doctorate degree, elects to pursue additional training in a specific aspect of veterinary medicine. This typically entails an additional four years of education spent learning the ins and outs of a specific area of the body such as the eyes, the brain, the kidneys, or the heart. Along with accumulating knowledge in their chosen area, these individuals also must demonstrate proficiency in any surgeries that may be required of their specialty and contribute to their field by performing and publishing their own individual research. At the completion of this training, specialty candidates complete a rigorous, multi-day examination to ensure that they have become experts in their chosen field.

Cardiovascular disease is one of the most common conditions affecting pets. Therefore, it is not surprising that one of the fields that a veterinarian can choose to specialize in is cardiology. A board-certified cardiologist has extensive knowledge and experience in cardiovascular diseases and works with you and your primary veterinarian to provide advanced diagnostics and treatments for conditions that affect the heart and circulatory system such as:

• Cardiac Arrhythmias and Heart Murmurs
• Congenital or Birth Defects of the Heart
• Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)
• Degenerative Valvular Disease
• Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM)
• High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)
• Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM)
• Pericardial Effusion
• Pulmonary Hypertension
• Tumors in the Heart or Circulatory System

In order to correctly diagnose and treat cardiovascular diseases in pets, a board-certified cardiologist utilizes a variety of state-of-the-art diagnostics and treatment modalities including:

• Echocardiography – An ultrasound of the heart, or echocardiogram, allows a cardiologist to acquire a real-time image of the heart and obtain detailed information on the size and function of the heart, valvular anatomy, and pressures within the heart and lungs.
• Resting Electrocardiography – Also known as an EKG or ECG, an electrocardiogram is a test that records the electrical activity of the heart. This tool is critical for the diagnosis of arrhythmias (abnormally fast or slow heart rhythms).
• Holter monitoring – A Holter monitor is a portable ECG device that can be worn at home for 24 hours or more. This device allows for detection of more transient heart rhythm abnormalities and can be an important test for screening for “silent” or occult heart diseases before symptoms develop.
• Biomarker and genetic testing – Evaluation of heart-specific proteins (biomarkers) in the blood stream has become a simple method of screening for developing heart disease even before they may become evident on an echocardiogram. Additionally, genetic testing is available for certain cardiovascular diseases in some breeds which can help guide monitoring recommendations and breeding practices.
• Interventional catheterization (coming soon!) – Using small incisions in the neck or legs, long catheters can be advanced into the heart for measurement of pressures, placement of artificial pacemakers, and correction of some congenital defects.

Because they work with patients with heart disease every day, a cardiologist can establish your pet’s diagnosis quickly and accurately. This allows them to explain the specifics of the condition, answer questions, and prescribe any medications immediately so that you can go home with a comprehensive understanding and tailored treatment plan the same day of your appointment. These benefits translate to improved outcomes for your pet, with studies even demonstrating that pets with congestive heart failure live almost 75% longer when co-managed by a veterinary cardiologist and their primary care veterinarian! So, if your pet has cardiovascular disease, consider adding a board-certified cardiologist to their care team.

Our Board Certified Veterinary Cardiologist

Dr. Nathan Boyd VMD, DACVIM (Cardiology)

Board Certified Veterinary Cardiologist

Dr. Boyd received his doctorate of veterinary medicine from the University of Pennsylvania in 2018. After graduation, he completed a small animal rotating internship at the University of Minnesota followed by a cardiology specialty internship at Kansas State University. He then finished his cardiology training with a three-year residency with Chesapeake Veterinary Cardiology Associates in Virginia. After becoming board certified, Dr. Boyd relocated to Edmonton with his partner.

While Dr. Boyd enjoys all aspects of cardiology, he has special interests in pulmonary hypertension, diastolic heart disease, and cardio-oncology. Outside of work, Dr. Boyd is an avid runner and cyclist. He also enjoys kayaking, fishing, and hiking with his golden retriever, Rise. When the weather takes a turn for the worse, however, he prefers to spend time indoors watching TV shows with his cat, Marta. Dr. Boyd is excited to see what Canada has to offer and to care for the pets of the Edmonton community!