Jet's latest Cardiac Test, via Echo in 2005. OFA Cardiac Clear in 2005, CR-CA177/89M/C-PI-ECHO


Click for larger image
CH SoftMaple's O'Dark Thirty MH CD RN TT CGC HOF WCQ, ROM CR-CA177/89M/C-PI-ECHO, CR-685, CR-536G27M-T,GSDIIIa clear EIC clear, CHIC# 26208
DOB: 9/28/1997 SN483995/11

Doppler performed on 3/19/2005 by Dr John Bonagura

result: No congenital Disease.
Mitral degeneration
results indicative of acquired heart disease (Age related changes)

Past Hx. Jet was auscultated and found within normal limits in 9/1998 By N. Sydney Moise, DVM, MS Diplomate - American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) Section Chief, Cardiology College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University. This was at the same clinic where his brother Marcus, and sister Hannah were screened. He was tested again by a board certified Cardiologist at a Cardiac screening in 2001, and again the paperwork was misplaced during his co-owners travels.

(OFA will only list the most recent results)

Any questions can be directed to Jet's owner Ellen Manes: jollycurl@stratos.net

More information on Acquired heart disease in dogs:

What is Heart Disease in Dogs?
Heart disease in dogs, as in people, can be either present at birth or acquired, often developing during middle age. Acquired heart disease is more common, affecting many older dogs.
American Veterinary Medical Association Copyright � 1996-2005

Acquired heart diseases are those that a dog acquires during its lifetime, usually as a result of normal wear and tear, infection or injury.

Acquired heart disease accounts for 95% of all heart disease seen in dogs, and usually appears after they reach middle age.
� 2005 Novartis Animal Health UK Ltd.

What Are the Different Types of Heart Disease?
There are two types of heart disease: congenital and acquired. Congenital heart disease is present at birth and is rare. Acquired heart disease develops over time, usually beginning during middle-age and affective many older dogs.
Copyright �1996, 1997 HomeVet

As in man, cardiovascular disease (poor function of the heart and associated blood vessels) is very common in older dogs. Surveys indicate that 9 � 11% of the dog population suffers from heart disease; 25% of dogs between 9 and 12 years are affected.

The most common form of heart disease is the gradual thickening of the heart valves, which occurs with increasing age. This leads to the heart valves becoming leaky and reduces the efficiency of the heart pumping.

As dogs age, the walls of the arteries stiffen, leading to loss of elasticity and increased resistance to blood flow. In one study, 77% of dogs over 12 years of age were found to have measurable stiffening of the arteries supplying the heart muscle, leading to compromise of its blood supply. This arterial stiffening also occurs throughout the body, leading to a reduced blood supply to all the major organs.
(A relative age of 12 was used, but keep in mind some breeds live much longer, and some have a much shorter lifespan.)

Heart muscle cells are lost throughout life as a result of ageing or disease and lead to a gradual reduction in function. Areas of damaged muscle tend not to conduct the heartbeat properly and can lead to disturbances in the normal heart rhythm.

Old animals also tend to become anaemic, as the rate of red blood cell production decreases. This contributes to the reduced oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood.

Diseases of the heart can be subdivided into cardiac malformations (birth defects of the heart or major blood vessels) and acquired diseases of the heart.
Malformations � also called congenital heart defects - are present at birth. Most congenital defects are believed to be genetically predisposed.
Acquired heart disease refers to a problem that is not present at birth, but is "acquired" during life, usually as the dog gets older. These conditions may or may not show any clinical signs.

Acquired Heart Defects

  • Canine Dilated Cardiomyopathy - Cardiomyopathy refers to a diseases heart, specifically its muscles. This may develop secondary to infections such as parvovirus, can be drug induced, a result of cancer, etc. The heart muscles simply fail. They weaken, losing their ability to contract with enough strength to adequately pump the blood to the body tissue.

  • Heart Valve Disease - The primary function of heart valves is to prevent blood from flowing backwards once it is pumped through the valves. This maintains a forward flow. When heart valve disease is present, blood may backflow causing excessive pressure on the vales and heart muscle.

  • Infectious Myocarditis - An infection in the heart muscle is termed myocarditis.Parvovirus is probably the best-known organism to infect the heart of a dog.

  • Canine Heartworm Disease - Heartworm disease in dogs is one of the most common ailments affecting the heart. A parasite called Dirofilaria Immitis is the causative agent and requires a mosquito to transmit the disease. The heartworm begins as an infectious parasite inside a mosquito. The larva lives inside the mosquito for about two weeks, where it grows and molts into the third larval stage. This stage migrates into the mosquito's salivary glands. When the mosquito bites a dog the worms are injected into the dogs skin. The larva remains in the dog's skin and underlying tissue for up to four months and then migrates into the bloodstream. Through the bloodstream the larval heartworms are carried to the heart where they live in the blood within the chambers on the right side of the heart. In the heart and lungs the larval worms mature into adults and may reach twelve inches in length or more. Many infected dogs exhibit no symptoms until the disease is in an advanced state. Then one may notice a decrease in activity, often accompanied by a cough. Left untreated, dogs with heartworm will eventually die from failure of the heart.

According to information disseminated by the American Veterinary Medical Association, one in ten dogs has heart disease of one kind. �2005 FindArticles.com

Dogs with congenital or hereditary heart disease should no be bred. Dogs with acquired heart disease are often not affected until they are older and retired from the show ring and breeding. Many people do not re-test a dog that was found non affected when younger. It is hard to tell how many older dogs have acquired heart disease.

There are many causes of heart failure. Congenital heart disease includes defects that affect the heart muscle or heart valves at birth. Acquired heart disease usually means degeneration of the heart valves in older dogs, weakness of the heart muscle in large-breed dogs, a thickened heart muscle in cats and, occasionally, heartworm (parasites).


Curly Cardiac page

OFA search results for CCR's (updated March 2005)


John C. Fyfe, D.V.M, Ph.D. Associate Professor
D.V.M., 1984, Washington-Oregon-Idaho Regional Program in Veterinary Medicine
Ph.D., 1994, University of Pennsylvania
Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics
5169 Biomedical Physical Sciences
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824
Email: fyfe@cvm.msu.edu

Glycogen storage disease type IIIa (GSDIIIa) is an inherited metabolic disorder that causes liver and skeletal muscle disease due to deficiency of the glycogen debranching enzyme (GDE) and tissue storage of abnormally structured glycogen. This disorder was discovered in an extended family of curly coated retrievers (CCR), with representatives from USA, Canada, and New Zealand, and is due to a single based deletion in the GDE gene. This disease, too, is an autosomal recessive trait, and so the laboratory provides carrier testing for GSD IIIa in curly coated retrievers .

Betty's GSD report from Dr John Fyfe D.V.M. Ph.D

SoftMaple GSDIIIa results



Our next litter

1