As previously described, many cats with CM eventually
develop signs of heart failure or produce blood clots within the heart.
Not exact matches
she said, explaining there are many differing expert recommendations on the subject with opinions ranging from annually to only if
signs or symptoms
of heart failure develop.
On average, the majority
of dogs with asymptomatic CVD will live for many years (1 - 5 years or longer) without ever
developing any clinical
signs of heart failure.
Some will
develop clinical
signs of heart failure as outlined above and it can be difficult to determine how an individual dog's condition will progress, so this is why your veterinarian recommends tests and recheck appointments.
Affected cats may begin to
develop problems as early as three months
of age, while less affected cats show
signs of heart failure by two to four years
of age.
This costs you nothing but a little time and can save you money by helping you become aware
of the early
signs of congestive
heart failure so that treatment can be started early before a crisis situation
develops that threatens your dog's life.
Indeed this does happen in some dogs, though most infected dogs
develop the less dramatic
signs of congestive
heart failure: weight loss, coughing (especially after exercise), labored breathing, fainting spells and so forth.
A small proportion
of dogs will
develop heart muscle
failure that could lead to
signs that include shortness
of breath, coughing, exercise intolerance and difficulty resting comfortably.
The majority
of patients with the disease will not progress to
developing congestive
heart failure (CHF) and will have no clinical
signs and live an otherwise normal life.
Others, however, go on to
develop CHF and the
signs defined above under our summary
of our Congestive
Heart Failure article.