Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Muscle loss common in cats with heart failure and affects survival
By Santiago, Sasha L et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2020·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Cardiac cachexia in cats with congestive heart failure: Prevalence and clinical, laboratory, and survival findings.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 125 cats with congestive heart failure (CHF) was studied to see how many had cardiac cachexia, a condition that can lead to weight loss and weakness. About 42% of the cats were found to have this condition, and those with cachexia were generally older and had more severe health issues, such as fluid in the chest and lower blood values. Unfortunately, cats with cachexia had a shorter survival time compared to those without it. This highlights the need for pet owners to monitor their cats for signs of weight loss and weakness if they have heart problems, as early intervention can be crucial.
People also search for: cat congestive heart failure symptoms · cat weight loss heart disease · how to help cat with cachexia
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Cardiac cachexia is common in people and dogs with congestive heart failure (CHF). However, the prevalence and effects of cardiac cachexia in cats are unknown. OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of cachexia and its associations with clinical laboratory and survival data in cats with CHF. ANIMALS: One hundred twenty-five cats with CHF. METHODS: Medical records of cats evaluated during a 40-month period were retrospectively reviewed to identify cats with cardiac cachexia using 7 different definitions. Clinical, laboratory, and survival data were compared between cats with and without cachexia. RESULTS: Prevalence of cachexia ranged from 0 to 66.7% for the 7 definitions, with a prevalence of 41.6% using muscle condition score (MCS). Cats with cachexia (determined by MCS) were older (P < .001), more likely to have pleural effusion (P = .003), had significantly higher blood urea nitrogen (P < .001) and neutrophil concentrations (P = .01), and significantly lower body condition score (P < .001), body weights (P < .001), hematocrit (P = .007), and hemoglobin concentrations (P = .009). Survival time for cats with cachexia (determined by MCS) was significantly shorter than for cats without cachexia (P = .03). Cats that were underweight (P = .002) and cats with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) also had shorter survival times (P = .04). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: The association between cachexia and reduced survival time emphasizes the importance of identifying and addressing this common problem in cats with CHF.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31837182/