Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Heart failure linked to hypothyroidism in Great Danes and treatment
By Phillips, Dianne E & Harkin, Kenneth R·Published in Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association·2003·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Hypothyroidism and myocardial failure in two Great Danes.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Two Great Danes were brought in showing signs of congestive heart failure, which means their hearts weren't pumping blood effectively. They were both diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition that affects the heart's ability to contract, and also had primary hypothyroidism, a hormone deficiency. After starting treatment with levothyroxine, a thyroid hormone replacement, both dogs showed significant improvement in heart function. Their hearts were able to pump better, and their heart sizes returned to more normal measurements.
People also search for: Great Dane heart failure symptoms · hypothyroidism in dogs treatment · dilated cardiomyopathy in dogs
Abstract
Two Great Danes were evaluated for signs of congestive heart failure. Dilated cardiomyopathy was diagnosed in each dog. Both dogs were diagnosed concurrently with primary hypothyroidism. Following appropriate supplementation with levothyroxine, both dogs showed significant improvement in myocardial contractility, as demonstrated by increased fractional shortening and reductions in left atrial size, and left ventricular end-systolic and diastolic diameters. These observations suggest that hypothyroidism may lead to myocardial failure in Great Danes that is partially or fully reversible following thyroid hormone replacement therapy, and that hypothyroidism should be considered in all Great Danes presenting with systolic failure.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12617541/