This disease in dogs often shows no symptoms and unfortunately leads to sudden death of dogs.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a type of heart disease seen in both cats and dogs, which is less common in dogs than in cats. It causes the walls of the heart to thicken, which leads to insufficient blood pumping into the body when the heart contracts. The disease eventually leads to congestive heart failure. Although the disease is rare in dogs, it often affects male dogs younger than three years. Some breeds such as the Boston terrier have a higher risk of this disease than others.

symptoms

The disease does not cause any symptoms in most dogs, making it extremely dangerous because the dog can suddenly die without any symptoms. Sometimes, some symptoms may occur, the symptoms of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in dogs are:

Exercise intolerance

Shortness of breath

Cough

A bluish color of the skin

In addition, although rare, the disease may cause some dogs to pass out during high levels of activity or experience temporary loss of consciousness. If your dog has one or more of these symptoms, you should immediately contact your veterinarian.

Causes

The cause of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in dogs is unknown. Some genetic abnormalities have been detected in humans and cats with the disease, but such precise evidence has not yet been found for dogs.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in dogs is difficult by medical tests because sometimes radiographic findings can give normal results even when the dog is sick. Similarly, blood pressure measurements may appear normal. For this reason, the heart of the dog should be examined by ultrasound for the definitive diagnosis of the disease.

Treatment

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy treatment in dogs is determined by veterinarians according to the condition of the disease and the dog. Follow-up and treatment of the disease is largely determined by how severe the symptoms are, and appropriate treatment is administered by the physician.