Cardiovascular disease can be challenging to recognize and characterize in everyday small animal practice, particularly when clinical signs are subtle or advanced diagnostics are not readily available. In this presentation, Dr. Stacey Hendershott will review the cardiac minimum database, a practical, systematic framework for evaluating dogs and cats with suspected cardiovascular disease. Attendees will explore how N-terminal pro–B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and cardiac troponin I can be used as complementary biomarkers to assess cardiac stress and myocardial injury, support diagnostic triage, and monitor patients over time. Dr. Hendershott will then share how these biomarker findings can be integrated with the physical examination and guide appropriate next-step diagnostics, including cardiac point-of-care ultrasonography, thoracic radiography, and echocardiography. Through practical clinical cases, attendees will learn how to move efficiently from clinical suspicion toward greater diagnostic clarity, making cardiovascular evaluation more accessible and actionable in general practice