Vertebral Heart Score

The Vertebral Heart Score (VHS) – also known as Vertebral Heart Size or Vertebral Heart Scale – is a measurement method used in veterinary medicine to assess the heart size of animals based on thoracic radiographs. It allows for the evaluation of heart size independent of the patient's overall body size, similar to the cardio-thoracic ratio in human medicine. The VHS is primarily used in dogs to detect cardiomegaly (heart enlargement), particularly in cases of heart diseases associated with dilation, such as dilated cardiomyopathy. The method involves projecting the long and short axes of the heart onto the thoracic vertebrae starting from the fourth thoracic vertebra and calculating the number of vertebrae these lengths cover. The VHS was established by Buchanan and Bücheler in 1995. A VHS of < 10.5 is generally considered normal for dogs, although higher values are accepted as physiological for certain breeds.

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