From incidental murmur to emergency presentation: what do you do next? ​

Two days of clinically useful feline cardiology, with Dr. Simon Swift, a Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Cardiology).

Key facts

March 20–21, 2027 · Bucharest, Romania, in person · Lecture-based, with ECGs and case discussion · Certificate of attendance · €545 early bird, €665 standard (all taxes included)

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About the weekend

A cat has a murmur, a gallop, or an arrhythmia, or something turns up as an incidental finding. When do you investigate? What should the echocardiogram show: which views, which measurements, whether the left atrium is enlarged, and which phenotype you are looking at? How do you tell hypertrophic cardiomyopathy from the other cardiomyopathies? And when a dyspneic cat arrives, how do you separate cardiac from respiratory disease and decide what comes next?

Dr. Simon Swift follows the patient journey from incidental murmur to emergency presentation. Saturday covers the foundations: the approach to murmurs, gallops, and suspected heart disease, the essentials of feline echocardiography, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and the other cardiomyopathy phenotypes. Sunday moves to clinical presentation and management: the dyspneic cat, arterial thromboembolism, treatment of feline heart disease, and case discussions from preclinical disease to CHF and ATE.

The weekend is a broad overview. It gives you a practical conceptual framework and confidence with common presentations, rather than specialist depth. Teaching is lecture-based, with ECGs and clinical case discussion where appropriate. There are no practical sessions.

What you will be able to do

By the end of the weekend, participants will be able to:

• Apply a practical approach to murmurs, gallops, and suspected heart disease in cats
• Recognize the core echocardiographic features of common feline cardiomyopathy phenotypes
• Describe a broad diagnostic and management approach to HCM and non-HCM cardiomyopathies
• Approach the dyspneic cat efficiently and distinguish common cardiac from non-cardiac presentations
• Outline current practical management principles for feline CHF and arterial thromboembolism

Weekend at a glance

Day 1: Saturday, March 20, 2027

Feline cardiology foundations
Bucharest, Romania ​

Saturday builds the foundations: the first finding, the echocardiogram, and the cardiomyopathies.

• 9:00–10:30 — The Feline Cardiac Patient.
  Murmurs, gallops, arrhythmias, incidental findings, and when to investigate.
• 11:00–12:30 — Feline Echocardiography: The Essentials.
  Standard views, core measurements, left atrial enlargement, and major phenotypes.
• 13:30–15:00 — Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.
  Diagnosis, phenotyping, staging, risk assessment, and general management.
• 15:30–17:00 — Beyond HCM. 
  Restrictive, dilated, and arrhythmogenic phenotypes, transient myocardial thickening, and key differentials.

Day 2: Sunday, March 21, 2027

Clinical presentation & management
Bucharest, Romania

Sunday turns to the patient in front of you: the dyspneic cat, arterial thromboembolism, treatment, and case discussions.

• 9:00–10:30 — The Dyspneic Cat.
  CHF, pleural effusion, pulmonary edema, and cardiac versus respiratory disease.
• 11:00–12:30 — Feline Arterial Thromboembolism.
  Recognition, stabilization, treatment, prognosis, and prevention.
• 13:30–15:00 — Treatment of Feline Heart Disease.
  Diuretics, antithrombotics, beta-blockers, RAAS-modifying drugs, and pimobendan.
• 15:30–17:00 — Feline Cardiology Case Discussions.
  Common real-world presentations, from preclinical disease to CHF and ATE.

Is this weekend right for you?

This weekend is for veterinarians in clinical practice who want a clear framework for the most common feline presentations, diagnoses, and treatment decisions: a clinically useful foundation in feline cardiology.

It is a broad overview. You get a practical conceptual framework and confidence with common presentations, rather than specialist depth. There are no practical sessions.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is also part of Module 2 of the Basic Cardiology Course, in a session on the broad clinical approach to the feline patient. This weekend is dedicated entirely to the cat. For clinicians who later want to go further, the first weekend of the Advanced Cardiology Masterclass is Advanced Feline Cardiology.

Faculty

Dr. Simon Swift, MA, VetMB, CertSAC, DipECVIM-CA (Cardiology), MRCVS

UK and European specialist in cardiology

You learn from a UK and European specialist in cardiology who is a past president of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology and a past chairman of the Veterinary Cardiovascular Society.

Dr. Simon Swift graduated from Cambridge University and started in mixed animal practice before moving to exclusive small animal practice, where he developed a fascination for cardiology. He passed the RCVS Certificate in Cardiology in 1990, and from 1990 to 2014 he was advisor to the UK Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club on degenerative valve disease.

He became a partner in a large small animal practice in Manchester, accepting referrals in cardiology. He obtained his European diploma in cardiology through an alternative residency program at Liverpool University, before moving into private referral practice in the UK.

In 2014, he moved to the University of Florida as service chief of cardiology and medical director. There he led the development of an open heart program to perform mitral valve repair surgery, in association with the team at the Jasmine Clinic in Japan led by Dr. Uechi. In 2021 he returned to the UK, where he works in private referral practice.

He enjoys teaching students and residents and helping clients and referring veterinarians, and has a special interest in teaching interventional cardiology. He has been an associate editor of the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine (JVIM), is a past chairman of the Veterinary Cardiovascular Society, and is a past president of the European Society of Veterinary Cardiology.

Conclusion

Two days that follow the feline cardiac patient from the first murmur to the emergency presentation, and close with case discussions from preclinical disease to CHF and ATE. If cats with heart disease come through your practice, this weekend is built to give you a clear framework for the most common presentations, diagnoses, and treatment decisions.

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Questions about whether the weekend fits you? hello@skillvet.com

Registration fees

• Early bird: €545 (all taxes included)
• Standard: €665 (all taxes included)

What's included: two days of teaching with Kieran Borgeat, course materials, access to theory lecture recordings, lunch, coffee, and water on both days, and a certificate of attendance.

Not included: accommodation, travel, and evening meals.

Romanian VAT (21%) is legally required for all participants, regardless of country of origin or VAT registration status. This is a legal obligation under EU and Romanian tax law for in-person educational events; it cannot be waived or exempted.

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