MVD: leading
cause
of CKCS deaths
Heart mitral valve disease (MVD) is a terminal illness which may afflict over half of all cavalier King Charles spaniels by the age of 5 years and nearly all Cavaliers by age 10 years. It is CKCSs' leading cause of death.
- More: Cavalier King Charles spaniel MVD
- Mitral valve disease breeding protocol
- A few words about pimobendan (Vetmedin)
- Research news
- Find a cardiologist
breaking_news
The Latest in Cavalier Health Research
- November 2024 -- MVD: Cavaliers' pulmonary vein diameters increase as mitral valve disease progresses, in a French study of 100 CKCSs.
- November 2024 -- MVD: 3-D echocardiography may predict the age of onset of mitral valve disease in heart-healthy cavaliers.
- November 2024 -- MYOCLONUS: Study of myoclonus in 27 cavaliers finds progression in frequency and severity.
- November 2024 -- MVD: Cavalier in heart failure receives 16 medications over 13 days of hospitalization.
- October 2024 -- MVD: Artificial intelligence algorithm accurately grades most heart murmurs in cavaliers diagnosed with mitral valve disease.
- October 2024 -- MISC.: Cavaliers ranked second to French bulldogs in having growths in their nasopharynxes in French study.
- October 2024 -- MVD: UK researchers find MVD-affected dogs' Shock Index can predict the onset of heart failure in cavaliers and other breeds.
- October 2024 -- MVD: The ACVIM's definitions of Stages B1 and B2 MVD are unscientific nonsense.
- October 2024 -- EYES: Cavalier is diagnosed with uveodermatological syndrome and alopecia areata.
- September 2024 -- MVD: Proximal isovelocity surface area (PISA) method of measuring mitral valve regurgitation is applied to 64 cavaliers successfully.
- September 2024 -- MICROPHTHALMIA: Cavalier is diagnosed by MRI with microphthalmia and coloboma cyst in his eye.
- September 2024 -- GASTROINTESTINAL: Cavalier with intestinal polyp had bloody stool and vomited blood.
- September 2024 -- OUR BLOG: Cavaliers diagnosed with mitral valve disease need sodium in their diets.
- September 2024 -- NEW PAGE: Anal Sac Disorders in the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.
- September 2024 -- URINARY: E. coli inserted into cavaliers' bladders cured urinary tract infections.
- September 2024 -- PANCREATITIS: Cavalier is diagnosed with pancreatitis, panniculitis, polyarthritis syndrome (PPP).
- August 2024 -- SKIN CONDITIONS: Long-term heavy doses of cyclosporine treatment cause severe dermatosis in a cavalier.
- August 2024 -- MVD: Intravenous (IV) medetomidine-vatinoxan is used to sedate MVD-affected cavaliers for echo scans in Finnish study.
- August 2024 -- DENTAL: Turkish study finds periodontal disease in cavaliers is associated with being fed dry foods.
- July 2024 -- CM/SM: Dr. Rusbridge seeks low-cost screening for syringomyelia in cavaliers using 3D computer models.
- July 2024 -- EPISODIC FALLING: European geneticists and neurologists sum up episodic falling syndrome in cavaliers.
- July 2024 -- OUR BLOG: How to find a well qualified holistic veterinarian to treat your cavalier King Charles spaniel.
- July 2024 -- OUR BLOG: Be wary of social media veterinarians who recommend products they sell.
- July 2024 -- OUR BLOG: Cardiologists’ obsession with the LA/Ao clouds their analyses of multiple echocardiograms of cavalier patients.
- June 2024 -- DIETS: Karen Becker’s BIZARRE recipes In new book.
- June 2024 -- MISC.: Cavaliers are the most common breed in a teeth chattering survey.
- May 2024 -- NEW PAGE: Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) and related amides and the cavalier King Charles spaniel.
- May 2024 -- MVD: Study of 198 cavaliers shows MVD-affected dogs in Stage B1 have enlarged left atriums.
- May 2024 -- OUR BLOG: Wild Hair Syndrome infects cavalier fanciers.
- May 2024 -- PLATELETS: ACVIM Consensus Statement on immune thrombocytopenia barely mentions cavaliers' benign version.
- May 2024 -- PLATELETS: Taiwan clinicians realize almost too late that a cavalier with low blood platelet counts does not need steroids.
- April 2024 -- NEW PAGE: Cannabidiol (CBD) and the cavalier King Charles spaniel.
- April 2024 -- NEW PAGE: The cavalier King Charles spaniel is brachycephalic.
- April 2024 -- PSOM: Middle ear bones of cavaliers are vastly larger than other breeds in a UK anatomy study.
- March 2024 -- MVD: French study of 128 cavaliers with MVD finds the 2019 ACVIM Consensus Statement's Stage B1 and B2 definitions are erroneous for CKCSs.
- March 2024 -- DENTAL: UK breeders surrendered retired breeding cavaliers to rescue group with worst cases of dental disease.
- March 2024 -- OVERVIEW: Cavaliers surrendered to Bliss Cavalier Rescue averaged 6 health issues each by age 6 years.
- March 2024 -- CM/SM: UK researchers develop an online tool that predicts the likelihood of painful Chiari-like malformation in dogs.
- March 2024 -- PNEUMOCYSTIS PNEUMONIA: Mutation of the CARMIL2 gene in cavaliers may cause the breed's high percentage of Pneumocystis pneumonia.
- March 2024 -- MVD: German veterinary school offers minimally invasive mitral valve TEER surgery for MVD-dogs.
- February 2024 -- CM/SM: Danish study of 55 cavaliers finds no association between mitral valve disease and syringomyelia in the breed.
- February 2024 -- MVD BREEDING PROTOCOL: Study reports that Denmark's MVD breeding restrictions have reduced early-onset MVD prevalance, excluding only 5% from breeding.
- February 2024 -- DENTAL: Cavalier's baby canine tooth root prevented development of its permanent canine tooth.
- February 2024 -- OUR BLOG: Nutrition needs of dogs with mitral valve disease.
- February 2024 -- MVD: 53.2% of cavaliers died from cardiovascular disease in 17 year Italian study.
- February 2024 -- MVD: An artificial intelligence computer program can accurately measure left ventricle dimensions from echocardiographic scans.
- February 2024 -- BRACHYCEPHALIC: Finnish study finds cavaliers rank high among breeds at risk for sleep-disorderd breathing.
- February 2024 -- LUNGWORM: Bleeding indicates a more severe case of Angiostrongylus vasorum infection in 180 dog study.
- February 2024 -- CM/SM: Certain symptoms displayed by cavaliers can indicate the severity of their syringomyelia and sizes of their syrinxes.
- February 2024 -- BACK: Cavalier with extruded disc in its neck is healed without surgery.
- February 2024 -- OVERVIEW: Cavaliers' median age at death is 11.8 years in UK study of 6,879 deceased dogs.
- January 2024 -- POLYARTHRITIS: Cavaliers ranked fourth among 84 cases of immune-mediated polyarthritis cases in one UK hospital study.
- January 2024 -- OUR BLOG: Is the cavalier breed about to run out of healthy genes?
- January 2024 -- EYES: Cavaliers may be at risk for ocular melanosis.
- January 2024 -- OUR BLOG: Eggs shells are a poor source of calcium in dogs' diets.
- January 2024 -- CM/SM: MRI testing and selection of cavalier breeding stock reduced syringomyelia (SM) in Dutch and Danish offspring.
- January 2024 -- CM/SM: Dr. Rusbridge publishes the 2024 version of the CM/SM Treatment Algorithm.
- January 2024 -- CANCER: Vertebral Angiomatosis is diagnosed in a cavalier.
- December 2023 -- ARTERY THROMBOSIS: Cavaliers ranked first among 50 dogs with combined renal proteinuria and blood clots in arteries.
- December 2023 -- PATELLAS: Cavaliers ranked second in most common breeds diagnosed with bidirectional patellar luxation in Japanese study.
- December 2023 -- MVD: MVD-affected cavaliers with mutations of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone gene may be less likely to reach congestive heart failure.
- December 2023 -- MVD: UK's Dick White Referrals Veterinary Centre halts MVD open heart surgeries.
- November 2023 -- OUR BLOG: Not all PEA (palmitoylethanolamide) is alike.
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How to Find a Cavalier Breeder
Chiari-like malformation & syringomyelia can cause severe pain in cavaliers
Chiari-like malformation (CM) and syringomyelia (SM) are reported to be "very widespread" in the cavalier King Charles spaniel breed. CM/SM is a combined disorder of the brain and spinal cord, which may cause severe head and neck pain and possible paralysis.
- More: CKCS syringomyelia
- SM breeding protocol
- Research news
- Reduced rate MRI clinic locations
- MRI screening protocol for SM
- Find a neurologist in the USA and Canada
- Use harnesses instead of leashes for CM/SM dogs
- Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs)
- "Pedigree Dogs Exposed"
- "Pedigree Dogs Exposed - Three Years On"
Hip dysplasia afflicts
up to 1 out of 4 CKCSs
Hip dysplasia reportedly afflicts up to one out of every four cavalier King Charles spaniels. It is a genetic disease which can cause the dogs pain and debilitation.
Low blood platelet counts are
not a problem for cavaliers
Low blood platelet counts in cavaliers usually are not a health problem. Many veterinarians are misled by low platelet counts to wrongly diagnose anemia or other serious disorders.
Brachycephalic Airway
Obstruction Syndrome (BAOS)
The size and shape of its head can cause serious breathing problems for the cavalier King Charles spaniel. Elongated soft palates, stenotic nares, everted laryngeal saccules, and laryngeal collapse are inherited developmental defects in the breed.
CKCSs are pre-disposed
to cerebellar strokes
Cavalier King Charles spaniels appear predisposed to develop cerebellar infarcts, or strokes.
Deafness is a double whammy for cavalier King Charles spaniels
Cavaliers are predisposed to a form of congenital deafness, which is present at birth, and also to a progressive hereditary hearing loss, which usually begins during puppyhood and worsens, or progresses, until the dog is completely deaf, usually between the ages of three and five years.
Breeding policy would
end early-onset MVD
Veterinary specialists have designed breeding guidelines to eliminate early-onset mitral valve disease in cavalier King Charles spaniels.
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- Cerebellar Infarcts -- Brain Strokes
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