Cardiomyopathy is a condition in which your dog’s heart does not pump blood efficiently. Usually, this is due to either scarring or inflammation of the heart. Cardiomyopathy, even when treated, is often fatal.

In general, there are two types of cardiomyopathy which may impact your dog: dilated cardiomyopathy and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Dilated cardiomyopathy is seen much more frequently than hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

If your dog has dilated cardiomyopathy, it means that its heart chambers are enlarged. Although each one of your dog’s four heart chambers may be enlarged, typically it is the lower left chamber (the left ventricle) that is impacted. The enlarged chamber(s) hinder the heart’s ability to contract and, thus pump blood efficiently. This condition tends to occur mostly in large, male dogs. Certain breeds are also more prone to developing dilated cardiomyopathy. These breeds include Doberman Pinschers, Great Danes and Newfoundlands.

If your dog has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy it means that the heart muscles have thickened to such an extent that the size of your dog’s heart chambers have decreased. The decrease in chamber size hinders the heart’s ability to contract and pump blood efficiently. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy tends to occur more in males than females. However, is not a commonly occurring condition.

There is also a specific type of cardiomyopathy that impacts Boxers called Boxer cardiomyopathy. Boxer cardiomyopathy typically results in irregular heart contractions and not necessarily heart enlargement.