Boxer cardiomyopathy. A review of the long-term benefits of antiarrhythmic therapy

Abstract

Antiarrhythmic therapy for Boxer cardiomyopathy both enhances the quality of life and improves life expectancy. The natural course of the disease for most dogs is a progression from mild arrhythmias to serious, potentially life-threatening arrhythmias and eventually to CHF. This process may evolve over a period of months or even years; the factors responsible for the variable rate of progression from one dog to another are not well understood. Once heart failure occurs, the long-term prognosis is dismal, usually no better than 3 to 6 months. Whether the administration of L-carnitine will have a significant effect on functional improvement of the heart, as taurine in dilatative feline cardiomyopathy, awaits the long-term evaluation of this therapy.