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Variation in the management of congestive cardiac failure in dogs
Author(s) -
Davies T.,
Everitt S.,
Cobb M.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
veterinary record
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.261
H-Index - 99
eISSN - 2042-7670
pISSN - 0042-4900
DOI - 10.1136/vr.102818
Subject(s) - medicine , heart failure , dilated cardiomyopathy , disease , disease management , intensive care medicine , cardiomyopathy , parkinson's disease
ALTHOUGH the underlying cause of acquired cardiac disease in dogs can be identified or assumed in most cases, it cannot often be corrected, thus the approach to managing congestive cardiac failure (CCF) is to treat the consequences of the disease using a combination of drugs and other non-drug management options (Keene and Bonagura 2009). Veterinary surgeons presented with a canine patient suffering from CCF have an increasingly wide range of therapeutic options available to choose from and use of many of these therapeutic agents is supported by reliable published evidence, and recently guidelines on the management of CCF due to canine degenerative valve disease in particular have been published (Atkins and others 2009). Comparatively less evidence is available to support the use of non-drug management options that veterinary surgeons often recommend for the canine CCF patient, including changes to an animal's exercise regime, weight control and dietary changes or supplementation (Keene and Bonagura 2009). Given the multiple therapeutic options for the management of CCF in the dog and the evidence available to support their use, the purpose of this study was to investigate the decisions made with reference to the management of CCF caused by both canine degenerative valve disease (CDVD) and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in the dog in the UK.