W09-017 Feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: Five-year outcomes and risk assessment
Principal Investigator: Dr. Philip R. Fox; The Animal Medical Center (Winn-funded study)
The REVEAL study involving 1,730 cats showed that hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a global feline health concern that imposes considerable risk for heart failure, blood clots, or cardiac death. Cardiovascular-related death occurred in almost thirty percent of the 1,008 cats with HCM and HOCM. Risk assessed at 1, 5, and 10 years after study entry showed that for the total population of with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, risk for developing CHF was approximately 1 in 14, 1 in 5, and 1 in 4, respectively, while risk for developing ATE was approximately 1 in 30, 1 in 10 and 1 in 10, respectively.
In contrast, CHF or ATE was rarely recorded in apparently healthy cats without heart disease. Survival of cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy was short once they developed cardiovascular morbidity. A small proportion of cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy had prolonged survival reaching up to 15 years. There was no statistically significant difference between obstructive (HOCM) and nonobstructive (HCM) forms of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy regarding cardiovascular morbidity (CHF or ATE), mortality, time from diagnosis to development of CHF or ATE, or cardiovascular survival. This dispels the long-held bias that HOCM confers a worse prognosis compared to HCM.
Collectively, these findings illustrate the need to develop preventative health strategies that reduce cardiac morbidity, improve long-term survival, and provide effective monitoring of cats with asymptomatic hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Summary prepared for Winn Feline Foundation © 2018