Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dilated cardiomyopathy signs and survival in Irish Wolfhounds
By Vollmar, C et al.·Published in Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)·2019·Clinic for Small Animals, Germany·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Dilated cardiomyopathy in 151 Irish Wolfhounds: Characteristic clinical findings, life expectancy and causes of death.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 151 Irish Wolfhounds with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), a serious heart condition, were studied to understand their symptoms and life expectancy. The dogs were divided into three groups based on their heart condition severity, with those in congestive heart failure having the shortest survival time of about 7.3 months. In contrast, dogs with preclinical DCM lived longer, averaging around 21 to 29 months. Most deaths in the less severe groups were due to non-heart-related issues, while nearly 90% of those in heart failure died from cardiac causes. This highlights the importance of early detection and management of heart disease in this breed.
People also search for: Irish Wolfhound heart disease symptoms · dilated cardiomyopathy in dogs · heart failure treatment for Irish Wolfhounds
Abstract
Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is an important cause of morbidity in Irish Wolfhounds (IW), a breed also predisposed to neoplastic and orthopedic diseases that shorten life expectancy. The objective of this study was to investigate survival and causes of death in IW with DCM and to characterise the clinical findings of DCM over time. Data from cardiovascular examinations performed in 1591 IW, including echocardiography and electrocardiography, were retrospectively evaluated. IW with DCM on medical therapy with long term longitudinal follow-up were included in this study (n=151; 95 males, 56 females). Based on their clinical status at initial diagnosis, IW were classified into one of three groups: preclinical DCM with sinus rhythm (PC-DCM-SR, n=35), preclinical DCM with atrial fibrillation (PC-DCM-AF, n=87), and congestive heart failure with DCM and AF (CHF-DCM-AF, n=29). Survival data were analyzed using cumulative incidence functions, Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression. CHF was predominantly characterized by chylous pleural and mild pericardial effusions. Causes of death were cardiac (CD) in 73/151 and non-cardiac (non-CD) in 62/151; 16 dogs remained alive at study end. The majority of deaths in both preclinical DCM groups were non-CD (PC-DCM-AF=51.9% non-CD, 48.1% CD; PC-DCM-SR, 65.5% non-CD, 34.5% CD). In the CHF-DCM-AF group most dogs (89.6%) experienced a CD. Median survival of the CHF-DCM-AF group (7.3 months) was significantly shorter than in the PC-DCM-AF group (21.9 months) or PC-DCM-SR group (29.1 months, P=0.001). CHF-DCM-AF in IW was associated with reduced life expectancy and CD, while most IW with preclinical DCM died from non-cardiac causes.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30819421/