Cardiomyopathy is any disease of the heart muscle but diseases of this type tend to fall into one of three major categories:
Dilated cardiomyopathy - inability of the cardiac muscles to contract properly. In cats, it's almost always caused by the deficiency of Taurine in the diet so is preventable and treatable
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy - most common in cats, an abnomally sized left ventricle that is assumed to be hereditary
Restrictive cardiomyopathy - where the heart muscle fills in the chambers. Occurs in cats but rare
Cats go their whole lives without any symptoms; however, others may:
- collapse or have difficulty breathing (often the result of major changes to heart rhythm or congestive heart failure, respectively)
- have sudden life-threatening blood clots (usually leading to hind limb weakness or paralysis known as Saddle Thrombus) or
- suddenly die (for those who suffer sudden, devastating electrical disturbances to their heart rhythms)
Diagnosis generally involves looking at the heart with:
- X-rays (demonstrating marked enlargement of the heart),
- EKGs (electrocardiograms, which may or may not show electrical disturbances in the heart) and
- cardiac ultrasonography (echocardiograms) to elucidate the physical changes in the heart muscle (most effective)
Maine Coon cats and American Shorthairs are most prone to cardiomyopathy, though all cats are potentially at risk.
For more details, the Embrace Pet Health Center has a very informative view of Cardiomyopathy written by Dr. Patty Khuly.
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Cardiomyopathy in Cats
