If I see that a dog is listed on his web site as echo cleared by a cardiolist and then see on the OFA aite that he has a echo number/clearance is this enough?
From what you say, it does indicate an echo was done. If it was performed by a cardiologist, then the OFA number will also indicate that.
The OFA will include information on a dog's cardiac # as to the particular cardiac screening, i.e.: was it auscultation or echo, performed by a regular vet, specialist or (the gold standard) a cardiologist.
"Cardiac
Example: LR-CA250/18M/C-PI
LR = Breed Code, in this case a Labrador Retriever
CA = OFA Database, in this case Cardiac (CA)
250 = Ascending numerical identifier given to each animal with a breed evaluated as normal and given a number, in this case the 250 th Labrador to be given a cardiac number
18 = The age in months when the testing was done, in this case 18 months
M = Sex
C = Suffix indicating the area of specialty of the attending veterinarian.
P = General Practitioner
S = Specialist
C = Board Certified Cardiologist
PI or VPI = Indicates that the animal has been permanently identified in the form of tattoo or microchip. If the dog is permanently identified AND the id has been verified and signed off by the attending veterinarian, a suffix of VPI is applied. If the animals lacks permanent identification, a suffix of NOPI is applied.
Hope this helps.
Then when you see any cardiac information on a website and they indicate a "clearance" done at 9 months, you know that it cannot be anything more than a preliminary exam. (It could merely be a regular vet listening with a stethoscope) If a dog has an OFA clearance you can look up all this info, the type of exam, plus what sort of vet did the exam, on OFA.
This example given wasn't a full cardiac exam. A full one with echo/color doppler will indicate that. After the LR # at the end after PI will have PI-ECHO.
This(ECHO) is what you want to see on the OFA heart # report. If it doesn't say ECHO then you don't have a true report of the dog's heart.
Is this test still beneficial on an older dog that is breeding age. I did the cardiac exam OFA at 2 years old but not this test. Thanks to all the posters with good information; it is very helpful.
I had a well respected cardiologist tell me (when I asked when would be the best time to do an echo doppler on a dog) that the absolute "best" time to echo your dog to evaluate cardiac health was just before he died...so the older the better. Realistically, he recommends doing an echo at 18 months when the dog has reached his mature size. There can be significant changes if an exam is done before the dog has finished growing. He also recommends doing echos on retired older dogs (if they have not been done) so you can see what you have in your line and can be in a better position to make informed breeding choices on their younger dogs.
People should have the ARCH screening done when they take their dog to the cardiologist for an OFA cardiac echo exam.
The more data the cardiologists can collect the better off all of us Labradors breeders will be.
The oldest dog I have heard of getting an echo exam for OFA is 12 years. Good for those conscientious breeders.
This example given wasn't a full cardiac exam. A full one with echo/color doppler will indicate that. After the LR # at the end after PI will have PI-ECHO.
This(ECHO) is what you want to see on the OFA heart # report. If it doesn't say ECHO then you don't have a true report of the dog's heart.
I don't know what the "SN" database is testing for as these letters are not explained on the OFA website. CA is cardiac. So the clearance you are looking for will look like this actual example from the database:
