Heart Muscle Disease in Cats
 
The heart has four chambers: two chambers at the top, the right and left aorta; and two chambers on the bottom, the right and left ventricles. Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a heart disease that affects the ventricular muscle. It is characterized by dilated, or enlarged heart chambers, and reduced contraction ability. That is, a reduced ability to push blood out of the respective ventricle. DCM causes the heart to become overloaded, and will often lead to congestive heart failure. Before 1987, DCM was one of the most common heart diseases in cats. This is ...read more