Myocardial injury complicated by systolic dysfunction in a covid‐19‐positive dog

A six‐year‐old Cavalier King Charles spaniel was referred with a two‐month history of severe exercise intolerance and syncope. Clinical signs had developed during a local wave of coronavirus disease (COVID‐19) two weeks after its family members had manifested symptoms of this viral disease and their positivity to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐ CoV‐2) was confirmed. Cardiologic assessment documented myocardial injury complicated by systolic dysfunction. An extensive diagnostic work‐up allowed us to rule out common causes of myocardial compromise, both infective and not. Accordingly, serological and molecular tests aimed at diagnosing SARS‐CoV‐2 infection were subsequently performed, especially in light of the dog’s peculiar history. Results of such tests, interpreted in the light of previous findings and current knowledge from human medicine, supported a presumptive diagnosis of COVID‐19‐associated myocardial injury, a clinical entity hitherto poorly described in this species.