HEART DISEASE IN PETS

This is a fairly big topic, so I have concentrated on the more common problems we encounter in practice.

As a general rule...

Large to giant dog breeds get dilated cardiomyopathy (a big flabby heart).
Small dog breeds get valve disease- usually the left atrioventricular (Mitral) valve
Cats get hypertrophic cardiomyopathy either by itself or secondary to hyperthyroidism.
Cats used to get a dilated form of cardiomyopathy (like that seen in large and giant dog breeds) until it was realised that a dietary deficiency of Taurine was the culprit.
Boxers have there own form of cardiomyopathy where they have extra heart beats causing collapsing episodes. Their hearts can appear normal on most tests.
Some forms of canine cardiomyopathy respond very well to Carnitine and /or Taurine supplementation.

Heart Diseases: