The aim of the study was to determine the epidemiological prevalence of aortic stenosis (AS) among dogs in Poland. Among 287 dogs, diagnosed with congenital heart disease at the Department of Internal Diseases and the Clinic of Horses, Dogs and Cats, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, at the Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences in Poland, in the years 2004-2011, there were 97 dogs with diagnosed AS. Diagnosis was based on clinical signs and physical examination, including auscultation and echocardiography (two-dimensional and Doppler). AS constituted 33.8% of all diagnosed congenital heart defects. In our clinic, aortic stenosis and pulmonic stenosis share the 1st place among the most commonly presented congenital malformations. Out of all AS cases diagnosed in the clinic, 65.6% were mild, 20.3% severe, and 14.1% moderate. The predominant form of AS was subaortic stenosis, with 90.7% affected dogs. Other types were less common: valvular aortic stenosis and supravalvular aortic stenosis accounted for 8.3% and 1% of all AS cases, respectively. Females seem to be less predisposed than males. Among various breeds, the sex predisposition seems to be significant in the Golden Retriever breed, in which 3 times more males than females are affected. The epidemiological prevalence of aortic stenosis among dogs in Poland is similar to that described in other European countries and America. Clinical signs usually do not appear in mild and moderate cases, so these dogs can live normally and reproduce for many years. In order to decrease the incidence of AS, it is important to do screening tests of predisposed breeds and exclude animals with all classes of this malformation from breeding.
