title: Screening for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in cats.
abstract: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common heart disease in cats, and it can lead to increased morbidity and mortality. Cats are often screened for HCM because of the presence of a heart murmur, but screening for breeding purposes has also become common. These cats are usually purebred cats of breeding age, and generally do not present with severe disease or with any clinical signs. This type of screening is particularly challenging because mild disease may be difficult to differentiate from a normal phenotype, and the margin for error is small, with potentially major consequences for the breeder. This article reviews HCM screening methods, with particular emphasis on echocardiography.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7054, Uppsala, Sweden. Electronic address: Jens.Haggstrom@slu.se.
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Häggström
authors.affiliation: The Royal Veterinary College, Department of Clinical Science and Services, Hawkshead Lane, Hatfield AL9 7TA, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Virginia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Luis Fuentes
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Small Animal Medicine, LMU University, Veterinaerstr. 13, 80539 Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wess
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers; D001947:Breeding; D002312:Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000662:veterinary*; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics; D002415:Cats
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers
keywords: Biomarkers; Breeding programs; Echocardiography; Genetic background