Heart Disease:
Feline Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy -- a heart disease where areas of heart muscle enlarge and thicken -- is the most common heart disease in cats. The thickened and stiff heart walls prevent the heart from functioning properly. Although it develops and progresses over time, its early signs may be subtle or nonexistent. A cat that seems healthy may appear to become very ill very quickly, or even die suddenly.

Methods of diagnosis may include a physical examination, along with chest auscultation (listening with a stethoscope), palpation of femoral (in the rear leg) pulses and hindlimb musculature, blood work, urinalysis, electrocardiogram, chest x-rays, echocardiography (ultrasound imaging), and x-rays of the heart and abdominal blood vessels after dye injection.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for HCM. Once diagnosed, the therapeutic plan might include some of the following: enforced rest, oxygen therapy, removal of fluid from the chest, and possible surgery. Some drugs that are often used may include bronchodilators to help your cat breathe, aspirin to prevent clot formation, beta blockers, heparin, and diuretics and ACE inhibitors. Usually, these cats are placed on a special diet that avoids excess levels of sodium.

To find out more, this link will take you to a website devoted to this disease. It will explain some basics about how the heart functions, what hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is, how it impairs the heart's ability to function, how a veterinarian diagnoses HCM, and the goal of prescribing medications to manage it. You can download a sheet that quite thoroughly explains this disease. .