Are any vets out there able to give me any info. on this condition?  During Holly's cardio screening prior to starting doxorubicin, the cardiologist saw an abnormality.  A further workup, including an echocardiogram and chest x-rays, by the cardiologist didn't show any structural or functional heart abnormalities.  They narrowed the possibilities down to a blood clot or constrictive pericarditis.  The blood clot seemed like a good possibility, especially since she has been having some occasional unexplained pain.  However, the D-dimers test came back negative, so although we're told it's not definitive, it is now less likely that it is a clot.

It sounds like the cause of the pericarditis has a lot to do with the prognosis, and we don't know the cause (if it is this condition).  We've been told there is a tiny chance that the cancer could have metastasized to the pericardium, but this has never been reported in a dog with osteosarcoma.

I feel pretty much in the dark here - there isn't a whole lot of information out there about this...we don't want to put her through invasive testing so it sounds like there isn't a good way to know the cause.  Without knowing that, is there anything that anyone can tell me about what we might expect or what we can do to help her?

Thanks for any help!

Alex & Holly