Cocker Spaniel cardiomyopathy

Abstract

Twenty-eight cases of Cocker Spaniel cardiomyopathy (CM) were studied to determine the epidemiologic, clinic and etiologic characteristics of the disease. The animals were assessed by anamnesis, physical examination, radiographic and electrocardiographic exams. Among the 28 dogs which were examined, 13 were male and 15 female, their age being from 18 to 144 months. The most frequent clinical manifestations observed were exercise dislike, cough, dyspnea and choking, respectively, in 23, 14, 7 and 7 cases. The radiographic exams were possible in 12 dogs and
revealed deviation of the trachea (8/12), increase of the right side of the heart (7/12), global cardiomegaly (5/12) and pulmonary interstitium density (4/12). Electrocardiographic assessment, made in all 28 dogs, revealed cardiac frequency changing from 60 to 180 b.p.m. The most frequent cardiac rhythms were sinusal arrhythmia with wandering
pacemaker (11/28), normal sinusal rhythm (6/28) and sinusal arrhythmia (5/28); the cardiac axis in frontal plan was normal in 27 out of 28 dogs. Moreover, by the electrocardiographic assessment it was possible to diagnose right ventricular overload (28/28) and left ventricular overload (20/28).