Cavalier King Charles Spaniels Heart Problem

[bet hargreaves]

It has been mentioned in a Research Veterinary Article that nearly 100% of Cavaliers have the MMVD Heart Problem at 10 years of Age.

Here in Britain this could mean that because 10,000 Cavaliers are Registered Yearly by the Kennel Club ,nearly 100,000 Cavaliers could be alive in Britain at 10 years of Age suffering from MMVD.

Because of these figures ,there could probably be many Cavalier Carriers of the MMVD Genes.

Could these Cavalier MMVD Figures also apply to Cavaliers in Australia.?

A Frightening Thought .

Bet Hargreaves

[asal]

It has been mentioned in a Research Veterinary Article that nearly 100% of Cavaliers have the MMVD Heart Problem at 10 years of Age.

Here in Britain this could mean that because 10,000 Cavaliers are Registered Yearly by the Kennel Club ,nearly 100,000 Cavaliers could be alive in Britain at 10 years of Age suffering from MMVD.

Because of these figures ,there could probably be many Cavalier Carriers of the MMVD Genes.

Could these Cavalier MMVD Figures also apply to Cavaliers in Australia.?

A Frightening Thought .

Bet Hargreaves

before you all go freaking off into the night.

of my 5 original cavaliers , 4 were free of any signs of MMVD at 8,,9,10,11,12. one only diagnosed at 8. (she was pet homed to the owner of one of her pups and was still going no medication needed at 11 last i heard from her owner)

so that to my bad maths made my purchases 4/5th of em free of it at 12? in the case of Zambuna Cav King Jack he was still hanging in there, n hadnt shrugged off the mortal coil at 15, although (according to the lady i had given him too) he had been pinched by the owners flatmate so no further info as to testing after 12.

so that doesnt look like 100 percent incidence to this idiot anyway?

three bitches, two of em spot on hearts, n the one with it starting at 8) came from Pribar Kennels and Edenridge Summer Shower was a daughter of Gaycrest Eboni Mist. although i loaned her back to Edenridge and think it was 14 puppies were bred to choose a "show" pup. to my knowledge and belief every single one bar the two i got back were limit registered n pet sold. so no hope of using that line if your looking for MMVD free line.

dont know if Pribar is still going.

i dont show and after all the crap and risk of ever selling on main register. (check out the pup return for refund because its adult teeth didnt come through as perfect as its puppy teeth? mind u it did win 2 challenges before its return but hey it might not make champion sooooooo n it is main so that meant it would )

no main registers will be available from me anymore.

reading that adorable story about the $25,000 cat's vet bills. my first thought was pity the poor bugger who bred it if it had been a registered animal

Edited September 13, 2010 by asal

[bet hargreaves]

It has been mentioned in a Research Veterinary Article that nearly 100% of Cavaliers have the MMVD Heart Problem at 10 years of Age.

Here in Britain this could mean that because 10,000 Cavaliers are Registered Yearly by the Kennel Club ,nearly 100,000 Cavaliers could be alive in Britain at 10 years of Age suffering from MMVD.

Because of these figures ,there could probably be many Cavalier Carriers of the MMVD Genes.

Could these Cavalier MMVD Figures also apply to Cavaliers in Australia.?

A Frightening Thought .

Bet Hargreaves

before you all go freaking off into the night.

of my 5 original cavaliers , 4 were free of any signs of MMVD at 8,,9,10,11,12. one only diagnosed at 8. (she was pet homed to the owner of one of her pups and was still going no medication needed at 11 last i heard from her owner)

so that to my bad maths made my purchases 4/5th of em free of it at 12? in the case of Zambuna Cav King Jack he was still hanging in there, n hadnt shrugged off the mortal coil at 15, although (according to the lady i had given him too) he had been pinched by the owners flatmate so no further info as to testing after 12.

so that doesnt look like 100 percent incidence to this idiot anyway?

three bitches, two of em spot on hearts, n the one with it starting at 8) came from Pribar Kennels and Edenridge Summer Shower was a daughter of Gaycrest Eboni Mist. although i loaned her back to Edenridge and think it was 14 puppies were bred to choose a "show" pup. to my knowledge and belief every single one bar the two i got back were limit registered n pet sold. so no hope of using that line if your looking for MMVD free line.

dont know if Pribar is still going.

i dont show and after all the crap and risk of ever selling on main register. (check out the pup return for refund because its adult teeth didnt come through as perfect as its puppy teeth? mind u it did win 2 challenges before its return but hey it might not make champion sooooooo n it is main so that meant it would )

no main registers will be available from me anymore.

reading that adorable story about the $25,000 cat's vet bills. my first thought was pity the poor bugger who bred it if it had been a registered animal

Cavalier's MMVD Heart Problem

I know that there will be Cavaliers living to a Normal Age, but until the MMVD Genes are found ,it will not be known if those Cavaliers could be MMVD Carriers.

In Britain Cavalier were known to have Died from Heart Trouble in the 1940's and 1950's.

It is possible that some of the Cavaliers exported Abroad could have had those Genes from those days .

All that is known ,that the MMVD Problem is serious for Cavaliers, and this is why those Genes have to be discoverd.

This is the same reason that the Genes for SM in Cavaliers have to be found, .

If the Genes are not found for both MMVD and SM the Cavalier Breed could be having a Bleak Outlook for their Future.

Bet Hargreaves

[asal]

yes your probably right.

the ones i had stumbled onto that didnt develop it are no use for breeding a strain that might have a better chance of not developing it.

without the dna test to PROVE they havnt the defective gene they are of no possible use or worth or preserving. being cavaliers they must have it eh?

why not just bann people from breeding cavaliers until the dna test is found?

Edited September 13, 2010 by asal

[asal]

It has been mentioned in a Research Veterinary Article that nearly 100% of Cavaliers have the MMVD Heart Problem at 10 years of Age.

Here in Britain this could mean that because 10,000 Cavaliers are Registered Yearly by the Kennel Club ,nearly 100,000 Cavaliers could be alive in Britain at 10 years of Age suffering from MMVD.

Because of these figures ,there could probably be many Cavalier Carriers of the MMVD Genes.

Could these Cavalier MMVD Figures also apply to Cavaliers in Australia.?

A Frightening Thought .

Bet Hargreaves

before you all go freaking off into the night.

of my 5 original cavaliers , 4 were free of any signs of MMVD at 8,,9,10,11,12. one only diagnosed at 8. (she was pet homed to the owner of one of her pups and was still going no medication needed at 11 last i heard from her owner)

so that to my bad maths made my purchases 4/5th of em free of it at 12? in the case of Zambuna Cav King Jack he was still hanging in there, n hadnt shrugged off the mortal coil at 15, although (according to the lady i had given him too) he had been pinched by the owners flatmate so no further info as to testing after 12.

so that doesnt look like 100 percent incidence to this idiot anyway?

three bitches, two of em spot on hearts, n the one with it starting at 8) came from Pribar Kennels and Edenridge Summer Shower was a daughter of Gaycrest Eboni Mist. although i loaned her back to Edenridge and think it was 14 puppies were bred to choose a "show" pup. to my knowledge and belief every single one bar the two i got back were limit registered n pet sold. so no hope of using that line if your looking for MMVD free line.

dont know if Pribar is still going.

i dont show and after all the crap and risk of ever selling on main register. (check out the pup return for refund because its adult teeth didnt come through as perfect as its puppy teeth? mind u it did win 2 challenges before its return but hey it might not make champion sooooooo n it is main so that meant it would )

no main registers will be available from me anymore.

reading that adorable story about the $25,000 cat's vet bills. my first thought was pity the poor bugger who bred it if it had been a registered animal

Cavalier's MMVD Heart Problem

I know that there will be Cavaliers living to a Normal Age, but until the MMVD Genes are found ,it will not be known if those Cavaliers could be MMVD Carriers.

In Britain Cavalier were known to have Died from Heart Trouble in the 1940's and 1950's.

It is possible that some of the Cavaliers exported Abroad could have had those Genes from those days .

All that is known ,that the MMVD Problem is serious for Cavaliers, and this is why those Genes have to be discoverd.

This is the same reason that the Genes for SM in Cavaliers have to be found, .

If the Genes are not found for both MMVD and SM the Cavalier Breed could be having a Bleak Outlook for their Future.

Bet Hargreaves

has it possibly occured to anyone that before dna technology came onto the scene, breeders can detect defective genes and eliminate them?

how did these ancient backward people mange the impossible?

oddly enough some mugs figured out some genes they didnt want cropping up were dominate and they were easy peasy to get rid of, dont breed from em.

they even stupid as they were as well as backward, even figured some genes were recessive and when they popped up both parent were to blame.

even in the icelandic 60's genticists had that figured out and even had plans in place to test which males carried the defective genes. not having the wonder dna tool, they used a totaly unethical method. they put aside all females that had produced effected ofspring, these were test mated to the potential males for the next generation, and only the males who did not sire any affected offspring to the carrier females got the opportunity to sire the next generation.

done for 6, ideally 12 generations, an odd thing happened.

subsequent test matings failed to produce any affected or carriers discovered, impossible u say.

surely maybe u are right, nothing like that could be achieved without dna specific tests, certainly not by any ethical breeder, no ethical person would knowingly use a known carrier for breeding. n thus no ethical breeder could eliminate a defective gene without dna.

soooooo only ethical breeders wait for the wonder dna test to arrive and pick out their breeding stock for the future.

but?

if ethical breeders dont breed till the dna test is available, n it takes 4 or 5 years down the track? or worse case scenario 7 or 10? unless theres a lot of fertalised frozen embroyos to implant in something there wont be any breeding stock still fertile?

so?

where does that put cavalier breeders? breed and your decidedly unethical

catch 22

[PaddyForever]

My first Cavalier, given to me for Xmas 1980, was diagnosed with a 'severe heart murmer', aged 5 and given only a couple of years to live. With the help of medication, he battled on, but passed away an old dog at the age of only 9, when his poor heart finally gave out...he was a little fighter, that dog. Years later, my brother purchased his first Cav, who was also diagnosed with a bad heart condition at around the same age, and died in my sister-in-law's arms one day whilst they were calling the vet. Their next Cavalier was diagnosed with MMVD as a young puppy, and they gave him away to an elderly lady, whose words were "He may yet out-live me." My brother just couldn't stand to go through the heartache of losing a dog at an even younger age than the other two. I have owned another two Cavaliers. One also had MMVD, both had eye problems. A two-year-old bitch developed Star Cateracts, a 4 month old puppy, who had heart problems, also had Severe Retinal Dysplasia. On contacting the Breed Club, I was advised that I'd 'just been unlucky.'! On hunting around subsequently, I was amazed at how few breeders are doing any health testing at all. Very few that I contacted were doing either heart or eye tests. Considering I own several breeds, and hip/elbow/eye/heart test, I found this quite disturbing. One breeder even confided that she had had so many bad results, and had had to start from scratch so many times, that she now wishes to remain ignorant, because 'what she didn't know couldn't hurt her.'! I don't know exactly how rife MMVD is, or how common the eye problems are, and maybe I have been unlucky. But if there can be research into any problems a breed has, and if there have been such a high incidence of a particular problem, you would think that more breeders would be assisting the cause by participating in whatever testing they could, wouldn't you?

[asal]

how i lucked onto my lot, i had been told cavaliers tended to live to 8

so

i went looking for breeder with dogs over 11, pribar had two that were 12 and 13.

ok i didnt know about mitral, but hey she had old dogs, and fit as fiddles so that who i went with.

trouble is finding someone like that.

the othe girl was pure luck, i as approached for a mating to jack, and got a pup from the litter, check out her website, the mum lived to 13 and so has her daughter, i rehomed her ages ago last i heard from her owner was she was 14 n still fine although her last vet check for mitral was at 12 after that she hasnt bothered

[Steve]

It has been mentioned in a Research Veterinary Article that nearly 100% of Cavaliers have the MMVD Heart Problem at 10 years of Age.

Here in Britain this could mean that because 10,000 Cavaliers are Registered Yearly by the Kennel Club ,nearly 100,000 Cavaliers could be alive in Britain at 10 years of Age suffering from MMVD.

Because of these figures ,there could probably be many Cavalier Carriers of the MMVD Genes.

Could these Cavalier MMVD Figures also apply to Cavaliers in Australia.?

A Frightening Thought .

Bet Hargreaves

No - this is most definitely not consistent with the figures we have gathered so far in our health surveys. This has been running now for almost a year and we have respondents from breeders, rescue and ordinary Australian dog owners. While MMVD does show up its not showing an incidence anywhere near as high as that which has been suggested.

Edited September 13, 2010 by Steve

[Steve]

It has been mentioned in a Research Veterinary Article that nearly 100% of Cavaliers have the MMVD Heart Problem at 10 years of Age.

Here in Britain this could mean that because 10,000 Cavaliers are Registered Yearly by the Kennel Club ,nearly 100,000 Cavaliers could be alive in Britain at 10 years of Age suffering from MMVD.

Because of these figures ,there could probably be many Cavalier Carriers of the MMVD Genes.

Could these Cavalier MMVD Figures also apply to Cavaliers in Australia.?

A Frightening Thought .

Bet Hargreaves

before you all go freaking off into the night.

of my 5 original cavaliers , 4 were free of any signs of MMVD at 8,,9,10,11,12. one only diagnosed at 8. (she was pet homed to the owner of one of her pups and was still going no medication needed at 11 last i heard from her owner)

so that to my bad maths made my purchases 4/5th of em free of it at 12? in the case of Zambuna Cav King Jack he was still hanging in there, n hadnt shrugged off the mortal coil at 15, although (according to the lady i had given him too) he had been pinched by the owners flatmate so no further info as to testing after 12.

so that doesnt look like 100 percent incidence to this idiot anyway?

three bitches, two of em spot on hearts, n the one with it starting at 8) came from Pribar Kennels and Edenridge Summer Shower was a daughter of Gaycrest Eboni Mist. although i loaned her back to Edenridge and think it was 14 puppies were bred to choose a "show" pup. to my knowledge and belief every single one bar the two i got back were limit registered n pet sold. so no hope of using that line if your looking for MMVD free line.

dont know if Pribar is still going.

i dont show and after all the crap and risk of ever selling on main register. (check out the pup return for refund because its adult teeth didnt come through as perfect as its puppy teeth? mind u it did win 2 challenges before its return but hey it might not make champion sooooooo n it is main so that meant it would )

no main registers will be available from me anymore.

reading that adorable story about the $25,000 cat's vet bills. my first thought was pity the poor bugger who bred it if it had been a registered animal

Cavalier's MMVD Heart Problem

I know that there will be Cavaliers living to a Normal Age, but until the MMVD Genes are found ,it will not be known if those Cavaliers could be MMVD Carriers.

In Britain Cavalier were known to have Died from Heart Trouble in the 1940's and 1950's.

It is possible that some of the Cavaliers exported Abroad could have had those Genes from those days .

All that is known ,that the MMVD Problem is serious for Cavaliers, and this is why those Genes have to be discoverd.

This is the same reason that the Genes for SM in Cavaliers have to be found, .

If the Genes are not found for both MMVD and SM the Cavalier Breed could be having a Bleak Outlook for their Future.

Bet Hargreaves

Our survey is not showing that Cavs in this country are suffering SM more than any other breed . However it has shown up in other breeds including first cross dogs which are not cav crosses and mixed breed.

Edited September 13, 2010 by Steve

[Steve]

The answer in the short term until DNA is available which is not even on the horizon is to have an open honest registry with breeders knowing how to properly profile a pedigree - looking for health issues rather than just spotting for where the champs are.

[asal]

The answer in the short term until DNA is available which is not even on the horizon is to have an open honest registry with breeders knowing how to properly profile a pedigree - looking for health issues rather than just spotting for where the champs are.

and yearly testing all and every one u intend breeding from and when one crops up like the 8 yr old girl, out went her's that i had kept for breeding, as pets only and told their new owners why they were going as pets . n those who had her pups were all warned, although as none have come back to me to say they had developed it young or had problems since? maybe i did a bit of overkill. but when u want to reduce the incidence of something like that, this is how i see it as the way to go

but documenting every year. so many get one doppler done and are gaily advertising their dog is tested and "free", well its only valid for they day it was done according to my vet anyway so that test was for that year only kiddo

it aint a lifetime "free" test as so many seem to think

Edited September 14, 2010 by asal

[Jed]

how i lucked onto my lot, i had been told cavaliers tended to live to 8

so

i went looking for breeder with dogs over 11, pribar had two that were 12 and 13.

ok i didnt know about mitral, but hey she had old dogs, and fit as fiddles so that who i went with.

trouble is finding someone like that.

the othe girl was pure luck, i as approached for a mating to jack, and got a pup from the litter, check out her website, the mum lived to 13 and so has her daughter, i rehomed her ages ago last i heard from her owner was she was 14 n still fine although her last vet check for mitral was at 12 after that she hasnt bothered

Yep, me too. Every Cav I've owned has died in his/her teens, from "old age" or age associated problems, not from MVD. I have one dog who has had a murmur since 8. She is 13 or 14 now, quite well, never been medicated.

Friends of mine recently lost their 3rd cav to MVD. He was 7. Every time, they buy a cheap pup from the paper, because they wont pay the $200 extra for a registered, healthy cav from a breeder. Every time, it has died of MVD or something at 6 or 7.

Every time, I tell them the extra they have spent on vet fees and meds, and the loss of time they had with their cav cost them a lot more than $200!!

There are cavs, and then there are Cavs!!

Need proof?

Check this out. 19 years, 17 years, 18 years.

http://www.thecavalierclub.co.uk/start.htm

And the breeders' cav list has a lot of breeders advising that a cav who is well into his/her teens has died- or had a birthday party.

asal

but documenting every year. so many get one doppler done and are gaily advertising their dog is tested and "free", well its only valid for they day it was done according to my vet anyway so that test was for that year only kiddo

it aint a lifetime "free" test as so many seem to think

Yep, dogs should be scanned by a specialist, but a GOOD vet with a decent ear can call a murmur or a pre-murmur, and they should be checked annually, and re-scanned frequently

Bet Hargraves

Could these Cavalier MMVD Figures also apply to Cavaliers in Australia.?

No.

Edited September 14, 2010 by Jed

[Bilbo Baggins]

My first cav died of a stoke at 15 heart murmur from 13 years.

My daughter Murmur diagnosed at 12 now 15.5 years old.

Her daughter diagnosed at 10y now 13 years

8yo slight murmur this year.

Others all clear but younger.

[LizT]

I think you hit the nail on the head when you talk about "continuing testing" at all ages Asal.

Even if the bitch is no longer breeding it is important to be able to compare these results if using a continuos bloodline.

But I also believe that one must take into account at WHAT AGE and to WHAT DEGREE the level of heart murmer. Many an elderly mammal will have a low level heart murmur. I know of a 15 year old Rottie that has just been diagnosed with a grade 3 heart murmur. I wouldn't go removing any of her progeny from a breeding program. And my old cat has just been diagnosed with one...not that he's even had the oportunity to breed as he's desexed but my point being that one shouldn't be surprised to find a heart murmur in any breed of elderly mammal.

[bet hargreaves]

I think you hit the nail on the head when you talk about "continuing testing" at all ages Asal.

Even if the bitch is no longer breeding it is important to be able to compare these results if using a continuos bloodline.

But I also believe that one must take into account at WHAT AGE and to WHAT DEGREE the level of heart murmer. Many an elderly mammal will have a low level heart murmur. I know of a 15 year old Rottie that has just been diagnosed with a grade 3 heart murmur. I wouldn't go removing any of her progeny from a breeding program. And my old cat has just been diagnosed with one...not that he's even had the oportunity to breed as he's desexed but my point being that one shouldn't be surprised to find a heart murmur in any breed of elderly mammal.

CAVALIER KING CHARLES SPANIEL MMVD PROBLEM

If I could mention , here is the Link that gave figure of nearly 100% of Cavaliers having MMVD at 10 years of Age

www.eurolupa.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7&Itemid=8

Bet Hargreaves

[asal]

I think you hit the nail on the head when you talk about "continuing testing" at all ages Asal.

Even if the bitch is no longer breeding it is important to be able to compare these results if using a continuos bloodline.

But I also believe that one must take into account at WHAT AGE and to WHAT DEGREE the level of heart murmer. Many an elderly mammal will have a low level heart murmur. I know of a 15 year old Rottie that has just been diagnosed with a grade 3 heart murmur. I wouldn't go removing any of her progeny from a breeding program. And my old cat has just been diagnosed with one...not that he's even had the oportunity to breed as he's desexed but my point being that one shouldn't be surprised to find a heart murmur in any breed of elderly mammal.

CAVALIER KING CHARLES SPANIEL MMVD PROBLEM

If I could mention , here is the Link that gave figure of nearly 100% of Cavaliers having MMVD at 10 years of Age

www.eurolupa.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7&Itemid=8

Bet Hargreaves

"WP2.2 Myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) - Leader : University of Copenhagen

Primary mitral valve prolapse (MVP also called Barlows disease) is a common disorder in human characterized by systolic displacement or billowing of the mitral leaflets into the left atrium, often accompanied by mitral regurgitation. It has many characteristics similar to MMVD in dogs. MVP is genetically heterogeneous and is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait that exhibits both sex- and age-dependent penetrance. Several loci for mitral valve prolapse (MVP) have been mapped: MMVP1 to chromosome 16p; MMVP2 to chromosome 11p, and MMVP3 to chromosome 13q but due to the limited number of informative individuals/families available no causal genes and mutations have been identified for the corresponding loci. Recently, mutations in filamin A were incriminated in X-linked cases.

MMVD is the most common heart disease in dogs. The disease is also known as endocardiosis or chronic valvular disease. It typically evolves in three stages: (i) mitral valve prolapse or thickening of the valve without regurgitation, (ii) mitral regurgitation in the absence of other signs of heart failure, (iii) heart failure. It is easily diagnosed using auscultation and echocardiography. MMVD is characterized by a clear breed predisposition, most often in small to medium size breeds. Nearly 100% of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (CKCS) suffer from the condition at 10 years of age, while approximately 50% Dachshund have MMVD at the same age. The aim of this study is the identification of genetic factors responsible for the development of MMVD in dogs."

sooo if they say so. Its gospel is it?

ummm, must be my vet is incompetent then eh?

think i'm going to cut and print this, his reaction might be interesting

Edited September 14, 2010 by asal

[tianakaesha]

Mika died at 5 years of age of a massive heart attack that could not be eased with medication.

It is believed her heart was compromised after having pneumonia as a puppy.

I don't know if it was MVD, or not. She was not in my care when she died.

I am not 100% certain her breeder had heart tested dogs, even though they are registered breeders. I don't believe the bitch was, but I could be wrong. I was colour blind for a Tri bitch so perhaps did not push the issue as much as I should have

[Jed]

Not a typical case of MVD Tian.

50% of dacshunds have MVD at 10 years of age

while approximately 50% Dachshund have MMVD at the same age.

I would like to see a reference to where the dogs in the study were sourced.

However the number of CKCS bred in Aust by reputable breeders has once again fallen. Unfortunately the most reputable ones and therefore least likely to breed dogs with problems are the ones who are not breeding.

I have no doubt that the incidence of MVD and SM will rise in this country. A self fulfilling prophecy

Edited September 15, 2010 by Jed

[Steve]

Not a typical case of MVD Tian.

50% of dacshunds have MVD at 10 years of age

while approximately 50% Dachshund have MMVD at the same age.

I would like to see a reference to where the dogs in the study were sourced.

However the number of CKCS bred in Aust by reputable breeders has once again fallen. Unfortunately the most reputable ones and therefore least likely to breed dogs with no problems are the ones who are not breeding.

I have no doubt that the incidence of MVD and SM will rise in this country. A self fulfilling prophecy

Yep because when you chase off the good breeders - speak of them as if they are stupid pond scum and regulate the hell out of them then the byb and unregistered and fly by night shonks take up the demand.

I would like to see these studies which are quoting percetages. In Pedigree dogs exposed and all that people like McGreevy have to say are estimates and they all say there are no studies to back up what they think about incidence.

The question shouldnt end with how many cavs get MVD but rather Do Cavs suffer from MVD more than other dogs of any breed in their later years in this country ? If so how much more. When we work out how much more then we need to work out how much more in the ones we breed in comparison to the ones bred by idiots.

Problem is if the figure comes back that the ones we breed are healthier than the ones we dont - who will believe us.

Its the most common heart issue in dogs as they age

[shortstep]

I would like to see these studies which are quoting percetages.

Could this be part of it?

This was sited in

http://cardiovascres.oxfordjournals.org/co...l#xref-ref-37-1

In some dog breeds, practically all dogs are affected. For instance, 50% of Cavalier King Charles (CKC) spaniels have a murmur due to MR by the age of 5–6 years and at 10 years of age, the prevalence of murmurs approaches 100% [38–40]. Echocardiographically, the majority of CKC spaniels have MVP [40,41].

This is sited study #38

http://veterinaryrecord.bvapublications.co...pe2=tf_ipsecsha

This study investigated the epidemiology and prognostic significance of mitral valve prolapse, detected by ultrasonography, in 153 cavalier King Charles spaniels which were screened consecutively during a period of one year. Seventy-five of the dogs, which had either no murmur or a grade I murmur on screening, were re-examined three years later. The screening revealed that 82 per cent of the dogs aged one to three years and 97 per cent of the dogs over three years had various degrees of mitral valve prolapse. The presence and severity of the condition were independent of gender but correlated positively with age and negatively with bodyweight. The degree of mitral valve prolapse at screening correlated with the regurgitation status (murmur intensity and size of the regurgitant jets) at re-examination and with the percentage increase in the left ventricular end diastolic diameter over the three-year period. The presence of a grade I murmur was not useful prognostic indicator.

This is #41

Mitral valve prolapse in 3-year-old healthy Cavalier King Charles Spaniels

Clinical studies have shown that Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (CKCS) have a high prevalence of mitral valvular insufficiency (MVI). Echocardiography has the potential to disclose early valvular changes, and the present prospective study was designed to investigate the occurrence of mitral valve prolapse (MVP) in young CKCS without heart murmurs, and to correlate the degree of MVP with the clinical status of the dogs by including CKCS with MVI as well. The study was based on blinded evaluations of echocardiographic recordings of mitral valves from 34 CKCS and 30 control dogs. Thirteen (87%) of 15 three-year-old CKCS without heart murmurs had MVP (2 total and 11 partial), as compared with 1 (7%) of 15 three-year-old normal Beagle dogs (P < 0.0001), and none of 15 three-year-old normal Medium Size Poodles (P < 0.0001). Of 19 CKCS with MVI, MVP was found in 84% of the entire group and in 100% of dogs with pulmonary congestion or edema. The occurrence of total MVP tended to be higher in the group with MVI (47%, 9/19), when compared with the younger CKCS without heart murmurs (13%, 2/15, P = 0.06). MVP was positively associated with excessive heart rate variability (P = 0.003). The radius of curvature of the anterior mitral valve leaflet in systole was significantly reduced in dogs with MVP when compared with those without (P < 0.0001). In conclusion, this study shows that CKCS at an early age have a high occurrence of MVP. This suggests: 1) A genetic predisposition of CKCS to MVP; and 2) That MVP is a pathogenetic factor in the development of mitral valvular insufficiency. Follow up studies may add further support to these proposals, and clarify whether echocardiography may be an aid in selecting CKCS for future breeding.

I do not have time to look at #39 #40 but if interested you can link to them from the top link.

O also noted that the KC seems to be doing screening at dog shows, they have the results of several screening on their site

A total of 40 dogs were examined by the cardiologist, Mr Simon Swift MA, VetMB, CertSAC, MRCVS and 32 were graded clear.

Here is one http://www.thecavalierclub.co.uk/start.html

As you can see in this one, no dogs over age 7 were found to be normal. But this is a very small sample at these dogs shows.

Age - No Murmur - Murmur Grade

0 - 1 7 1

1 - 2 11 0

2 - 3 6 0

3 - 4 4 2

4 - 5 1 0

5 - 6 2 0

6 - 7 1 2

7 - 8 0 1, 2, 6

8 - 9 0 0

9 - 10 0 0

10 - 11 0 0

11 - 12 0 1

12 - 13 0 3

Total 32 8

Edited September 14, 2010 by shortstep