“Canine Cardiomyopathies: An Overview; Current Understanding and Perspectives for the Future”

Abstract

Cardiomyopathies are an arduous spectrum of diseases of the heart muscle experienced by canines and may be of a growing concern within the expanding canine population. While the prevalence in many breeds is rather constant, new trends and changing breed popularity warrants an investigation and an overview of these complex conditions. Of the various existing classifications of cardiomyopathies, derived from the evolution of human classifications, dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) are the two most often encountered cardiomyopathic diseases in canine patients. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a rarely diagnosed cardiomyopathy in dogs and hypertrophy of the left ventricle is often a result of another systemic disease.