Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Special diet slows heart enlargement in dogs with early mitral valve
By Oyama, Mark A et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2023·School of Veterinary Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Effect of a specially formulated diet on progression of heart enlargement in dogs with subclinical degenerative mitral valve disease.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study involving 127 dogs with early signs of heart disease (subclinical degenerative mitral valve disease) tested whether a specially formulated diet could slow down heart enlargement over a year. Unfortunately, the results showed that the diet did not significantly change the size of the heart compared to a regular diet. Both groups of dogs experienced similar increases in heart size, and there were no notable differences in heart function or the number of dogs that had to leave the study due to worsening conditions. This means that the special diet did not provide the hoped-for benefits for these dogs.
People also search for: dog heart disease diet · degenerative mitral valve disease treatment · heart enlargement in dogs · special diet for dog heart problems
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Previous studies in dogs with degenerative mitral valve disease (DMVD) have identified altered myocardial energy metabolism and oxidation, which might contribute to cardiac hypertrophy. Diets rich in medium chain fatty acids and antioxidants are a potential means of treatment. A previous clinical study found significantly smaller left atrial diameter (LAD) and left atrium-to-aorta diameter ratio (LA : Ao) in dogs with subclinical DMVD fed a specially formulated diet vs control diet for 6 months. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: A specially formulated diet will slow or arrest left heart enlargement in dogs with subclinical DMVD over 365 days. ANIMALS: One hundred twenty-seven dogs with unmedicated subclinical DMVD; 101 dogs in the per protocol cohort. METHODS: Randomized double-blinded controlled multicenter clinical trial. RESULTS: The study's primary composite outcome measure was the sum of percentage change in LAD and left ventricular internal dimension at end-diastole (LVIDd) at day 365. In the per protocol cohort, the outcome measure increased by 8.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.9%-13.1%) in dogs receiving the test diet vs 8.8% (95% CI, 5.1%-12.5%) in dogs receiving control diet (P = .79). Neither component of the primary outcome measure was significantly different between groups (LAD, P = .65; LVIDd, P = .92). No difference was found in mitral valve E wave velocity (P = .36) or the proportion of dogs withdrawn from the study because of worsening DMVD and heart enlargement (P = .41). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Feeding a specially formulated diet for 365 days was not associated with a significantly different rate of change of left heart size in dogs with subclinical DMVD as compared to control.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37392086/