Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM)
Enlarged, weakened heart muscle reducing the heart's ability to pump blood.
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Expert guides
The Grain-Free Question: Diet-Associated DCM, Explained Fairly
Few topics in canine heart health have stirred up as much worry, and as much heated argument, as the link between grain-free food and dilated cardiomyopathy. Maybe a frightening headline sent you here, or your vet...
Dilated cardiomyopathy explained: what DCM is, which dogs get it, and why it stays silent for so long
Dilated cardiomyopathy is one of the most serious heart diseases of dogs, and there is no point pretending otherwise. It is also one of the most misunderstood, partly because it behaves so differently from the...
Living With a DCM Dog: Diet Correction, Exercise and Monitoring
The name dilated cardiomyopathy sounds final, and a "weak heart muscle" is harder to picture than a leaky valve, so a diagnosis can feel as though it has taken matters out of your hands. In practice, day-to-day life...
Dobermans and Sudden Death: Arrhythmias, Monitoring, and What Can Be Done
Of all the heart problems a dog can have, the one that frightens Doberman owners most is the one that arrives with no warning. You have probably heard about it already, from a breeder, a forum, or a vet picking their...
Screening at-risk breeds for DCM: Holters, echo and why catching it early matters
Dilated cardiomyopathy can sit in a dog's heart for years before anything shows on the outside. Owners of Dobermans, Great Danes, Irish Wolfhounds and the other prone breeds are usually told this, often quite bluntly,...
DCM Prognosis, and Why Catching It Early Changes the Story
How long has my dog got? That is the question almost every owner asks within a minute or two of hearing the words "dilated cardiomyopathy", even when they can barely bring themselves to say it aloud. It is the right...
When DCM Becomes Heart Failure
Dilated cardiomyopathy can run quietly for a long time. The heart muscle is weakening and the chambers are stretching, yet on the outside your dog looks well: eating, walking, greeting you at the door. Then the balance...
Breeds prone to Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM)
Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) is seen more often in some breeds than others. If you have one of these, its breed guide covers what to watch for and where to get help.
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Part of the Heart Health community
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