Dilated Cardiomyopathy Variant 2 · Doberman DCM2 · DCM2 · Dilatative Kardiomyopathie Typ 2 · Dobermann-Kardiomyopathie · DCM2 (TTN) · Titin-Variante
Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a severe genetic disease of the heart muscle where the heart's chambers become stretched, enlarged, and weakened. This stretching prevents the heart from contracting normally, making it difficult to pump blood effectively to the rest of the body. It is inherited in an autosomal-dominant pattern, meaning a dog only needs to inherit one copy of the risk variant to be susceptible, though not all dogs with the variant will develop the disease.
Symptoms typically appear in middle-aged dogs and include rapid fatigue during exercise, coughing, shortness of breath, or sudden fainting. Because the disease often progresses silently, some dogs may not show any outward signs until they experience acute heart failure.
While DCM is incurable and progressive, the disease can be managed with lifelong daily medications and regular veterinary heart checks. Lifetime management and diagnostic costs typically range from 3,000 to 10,000 EUR.
Estimated range of typical treatment cost. Actual cost depends on severity, clinic and region.
More conditions affecting the Heart.