Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy in Canines:Myocardial diseases are extremely common in dogs and are the most common cause of mortality and heart failure in dogs.
Though both cats and dogs experience hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, dogs are a little more susceptible to this condition than cats. There are several different kinds of cardiomyopathy in dogs; however, dilated cardiomyopathy is the most common kind.
Cardiomyopathy is a condition characterized by abnormalities in the muscles of the heart.
Due to several different reasons, the muscles of the heart become weak and lose their ability to expand and contract. When the muscles lose their abilities in such a way, the heart becomes unable to pump enough blood to meet the body’s requirements. When the organs do not receive as much blood as they require, they are unable to perform their functions in a proper manner.
The primary diseases of the myocardium or the muscles of the heart are idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy, and much rarer, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy in Dogs Symptoms:
During dilated cardiomyopathy in dogs, the chambers of the heart become enlarged, causing the muscles to become thin and weak. The valves in the chambers lose their functioning. When the valves do not function normally, it can eventually culminate in congestive heart failure. Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy is characterized by arterial arrhythmias and arterial fibrillation. When these problems are recurrent, the heart muscles become extremely weak and are unable to sustain the function of pumping blood into the far reaches of the body, thus causing heart failure. Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy in Dogs Causes:
Though primary hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is quite rare in dogs, it can occur due to an injury from hypertension. Other causes of hypertrophy are hyperthyroidism, brain heart syndrome, catecholamines, and ischemia. If there is chronic pressure on the valves of the heart, the valves can easily lose their functioning. However, in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the muscles of the heart thicken instead of weakening and thinning. At this point, the dog may experience some difficulty in breathing; it may also experience coughing, swelling in the chest, murmuring in the heart, inactivity and finally, exercise intolerance. Cardiomypathy is caused due to an overload of blood. In this case, the muscles of the heart become inflamed and tender. They will not be able to sustain the pressure and create the requisite pumping action to pump blood normally. There is a lack of blood in the body, and to compensate for it, the heart has to work twice as hard, causing exhaustion, and finally, congestive heart failure, leading to eventual death.
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