HEART ISSUES
Boxers are prone to heart problems, mainly aortic stenosis ("heart murmurs") and cardiomyopathy. Here we are going to try and explain these conditions in layman's terms, but have provided links for further reading.
Aortic Stenosis
Aortic stenosis the condition that causes heart murmurs. It is where a valve between the heart and the aorta gets blocked there is a struggle to pump blood around the heart. Subaortic stenosis is the same condition, except the blockage is located below the valve. Heart murmurs are graded out of six and treated accordingly.
- 0 out of 6 - there is no heart murmur
- 1-2 out of 6 - these murmurs are considered "mild" and require little or no treatment, just monitoring. These dogs are unlikely to develop any further symptoms and can live a normal lifestyle.
- 3-4 out of 6 - these murmurs are considerate "moderate". Whilst many are unlikely to develop further symptoms, some may and continuous monitoring is advised.
- 5-6 out of 6 - these murmurs are considered to be severe and are the most life threatening. Most of these dogs will go on to develop further symptoms and health problems associated with aortic stenosis.
A low grade heart murmur will only be detected at your regular vet checks, but the more severe grades will have symptoms such as persistent coughing, exercise intolerance, collapse and increased respiratory rate whilst resting. As with all conditions, if you have any concerns, please consult your vet. There is no treatment needed for a mild heart murmur, but with the more serious grades, treatment is generally required for the other symptoms associated with the condition, such as fluid on the lungs.
Cardiomyopathy
There are three main types of cardiomyopathy, but boxers as are prone to Arrythmogenic Cardiomyopathy, we will concentrate on that. AC is when there is an abnormality in the heart muscle which affects the general electrical conduction system of the heart (heartbeat). This can be caused by nerve or muscle damage, but generally manifests itself as extra or missed beats.
General symptoms of cardiomyopathy are exercise intolerance and fainting spells. If a dog is suspected of having AC, then a vet needs to listen to its heart at the same time as taking the pulse - this is to check for the extra or missed beat. An ECG can also be done, either at the surgery or by wearing an ECG jacket for a day, as shown by this photo.
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Cardiomyopathy is incurable, but the dog's quality of life can be improved by medication to control some of the side effects of hte condition, eg fluid retention.
Boxer Weflare Scotland had their own case of a boxer with cardiomyopathy in the form of Kai. You can read more about Kai here.
Boxer Underground - Cardiomyopathy