Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with muscular dystrophy showing signs of sudden heart attack
By Schneider, Sarah Morar et al.·Published in Neuromuscular disorders : NMD·2016·Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, United States·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Suspected acute myocardial infarction in a dystrophin-deficient dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 7-month-old Golden Retriever with muscular dystrophy showed sudden signs of heart problems, including an irregular heartbeat and weak pulses. Tests revealed high levels of heart-specific proteins, indicating possible heart damage. An ultrasound of the heart showed abnormal areas, suggesting a serious condition similar to a heart attack. Over the next three years, the dog's heart condition worsened significantly. Unfortunately, the dog did not recover fully, and the heart issues progressed.
People also search for: dog heart problems symptoms · Golden Retriever heart disease · puppy tachyarrhythmia treatment
Abstract
Golden retriever muscular dystrophy (GRMD) is a model for the genetically homologous human disease, Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Unlike the mildly affected mdx mouse, GRMD recapitulates the severe DMD phenotype. In addition to skeletal muscle involvement, DMD boys develop cardiomyopathy. While the cardiomyopathy of DMD is typically slowly progressive, rare early episodes of acute cardiac decompensation, compatible with myocardial infarction, have been described. We report here a 7-month-old GRMD dog with an apparent analogous episode of myocardial infarction. The dog presented with acute signs of cardiac disease, including tachyarrhythmia, supraventricular premature complexes, and femoral pulse deficits. Serum cardiac biomarkers, cardiac-specific troponin I (cTnI) and N-terminal prohormone of B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), were markedly increased. Echocardiography showed areas of hyperechoic myocardial enhancement, typical of GRMD cardiomyopathy. Left ventricular dyskinesis and elevated cTnI were suggestive of acute myocardial damage/infarction. Over a 3-year period, progression to a severe dilated phenotype was observed.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27105608/