What causes heart muscle disease in cats?
The most common type of adult onset disease in the cat is cardiomyopathy, a disease affecting the heart muscle. The exact cause of most types of adult onset heart disease is unknown, although genetics and lifestyle (weight, physical activity, and diet) may play an important role.
What kind of heart disease does my cat have?
Cardiomyopathy refers to diseases that affect the heart muscle. There are several different types of cardiomyopathy in cats, the most common of which is called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). What does HCM do to my cat’s heart? In HCM, the heart muscle starts to thicken as the disease progresses.
What does it mean when a cat has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy?
Feline Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a condition that causes the muscular walls of a cat’s heart to thicken, decreasing the heart’s efficiency and sometimes creating symptoms in other parts of the body.
What causes congestive heart failure in a cat?
Heart disease in cats is a medical precursor to congestive heart failure in cats, because heart disease can lead to congestive heart failure in cats if untreated. Heart disease in cats can be either congenital or acquired: Congenital heart disease in cats is present at birth, and can be inherited from the parents
What happens to the heart of a cat with HCM?
In a cat with HCM, the heart’s left ventricle (its primary “pump muscle”) is thickened, leading to a decrease in the volume of the heart chamber and to abnormal relaxation of the heart muscle. These changes can cause the heart to beat rapidly, resulting in increased oxygen usage and possibly to oxygen starvation of the heart muscle.
What kind of heart disease does a cat have?
Hyperthyroidism in Cats Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the most commonly diagnosed cardiac disease in cats. Feline Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a condition that causes the muscular walls of a cat’s heart to thicken, decreasing the heart’s efficiency and sometimes creating symptoms in other parts of the body.
Feline Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a condition that causes the muscular walls of a cat’s heart to thicken, decreasing the heart’s efficiency and sometimes creating symptoms in other parts of the body.
Heart disease in cats is a medical precursor to congestive heart failure in cats, because heart disease can lead to congestive heart failure in cats if untreated. Heart disease in cats can be either congenital or acquired: Congenital heart disease in cats is present at birth, and can be inherited from the parents
What happens to cats with congenital heart defects?
Mildly affected cats may show no ill effects and live a normal life span. Defects causing significant circulatory disturbances will likely cause death in newborn (and unborn) kittens. Medical or surgical treatments are most likely to benefit cats with congenital heart defects of moderate or greater severity.
What is the most common heart disease in cats?
While occasionally observed in kittens, a disease called cardiomyopathy is almost always an acquired condition and is by far the most common among all adult feline heart disorders, accounting for almost two-thirds of heart conditions diagnosed in cats.
