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Section: Overview
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is condition characterized by a thickening of the main pumping chamber of the heart (the left ventricle) and not attributed to other medical conditions (such as high blood pressure). It can, in severe cases, cause heart failure when fluid accumulates in the lungs. Blood clots, too, can form in the heart and travel to distant blood vessels obstructing blood flow to one or more limbs (especially the back legs). HCM can be mild to life-threatening.Males of the Maine coon cat, Persian cat and Ragdoll cat breeds are most likely to be affected along with cats ages 6 months to 4 years, though all ages can be affected. The main causes of HCM are genetic. Factors that can precipitate difficult breathing and/or heart failure in a cat with HCM include: fever, infection, stress (yes, even a veterinarian visit!), anesthesia and/or sedation and intravenous administration.
In atrial fibrillation the normally coordinated electrical activity in the upper heart chambers, the right atrium and left atrium, is lost. The muscle of these chambers begins to wiggle like a "bag full...
Heart failure is a condition, caused by an abnormality in the structure or the function of the heart, in which it is unable to pump normal quantities of blood to the tissues of the body.
Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a myocardial disease, which is disease of the heart muscle that is characterized by dilation (enlargement) of the cardiac chambers and markedly reduced muscle contraction....
Elevated blood pressure is an increase in the systolic or diastolic arterial blood pressure (ABP). A systolic ABP should not exceed 170 to 180 mm Hg and diastolic should not exceed the 100 to 110 mm Hg...
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