[pyrnet] Fw: HEALTH: DCM

["Barb Bowes" <bamb@monmouth.com>]

Forwarded with permission from the original poster.
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
----------------
>
> <<Darrell,
> > Was this treatable??  What caused it???>>
>
> Dilated cardiomyopathy is treatable, in the sense of extending
a dog's
> life, but it is also terminal. Simply, the heart enlarges, and
the walls
> of the heart become thin as it enlarges. As the disease
progresses, the
> heartbeat becomes more rapid and irregular. A number of breeds,
mostly
> but not exclusively larger, suffer from this heart disease.
>
> The cause of DCM is unknown, although it is expected that there
are a
> number of causes that result in a common outcome. In some
breeds, such
> as Dobermans and Boxers, it is clearly hereditary. We don't
know this in
> Pyrs, although there is circumstantial evidence to suggest that
at least
> some cases may be familial, in the sense that some cases of
bone cancer
> appear to be. Other cases could be caused by something like an
unknown
> virus, for example.
>
>
> New drug therapies can extend the life of a diagnosed dog for a
year or
> so. A recent study of Dobies found life expectancy to be less
than a
> year in 90 percent of cases, once the dogs had reached
congestive heart
> failure. With earlier diagnosis, you might get better results.
An
> accurate diagnosis, in most cases, can only be made by a
cardiologist,
> unless you have a vet who is pretty familiar with the disease.
>
> Symptoms include: massive and rapid weight loss, increasing
lethargy,
> lack of appetite and coughing.
>
> Like bone cancer, this is a terminal disease. My dog lived
about 11
> months after diagnosis.
>
> Darrell Goolsbee
> Fort Worth, TX
>