Today, Tanner the Samoyed came to visit because he was due for another chemo treatment, but his owner had also noticed that Tanner was experiencing fainting spells (particularly after exercise) and was concerned about what might be causing the fainting spells.
Tanner is receiving chemotherapy to treat his cancer. One chemotherapy drug that’s administered intravenously, doxorubicin, can result in heart toxicity, which can eventually lead to Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM – muscle fibers are weakened and stretched). However, Tanner receives a different type of chemo that does not cause heart toxicity. Tanner also received an echocardiogram, which confirmed that his heart is pumping weakly. The echocardiogram also showed that his DCM is not due to some other heart-related factor. Also, grain-free diets can also lead to a DCM; however, Tanner has a normal diet, so this is also unlikely to be the cause of his DCM. So, it is possible that Tanner’s DCM is due to a genetic predisposition, which some breeds in particular have.
So, medication has been recommended for Tanner that can help improve the beating of his heart. However, the weak condition of the heart muscle itself cannot be strengthened; the medication is more important for preventing further complications such as heart failure, arrhythmia, etc. that can potentially result from a DCM, as well as improving his quality of life.
My other important petting job of the day was Finley, who was a super sweet dog with a really long nose 🙂
Diagram of a normal heart and a heart with DCM – note the stretched and thinned muscle walls.