Is your dog or cat at risk for heart disease? Approximately 15% of dogs are at risk, and feline heart disease has always been a difficult thing to diagnose until now.
Feline CardioCare is a simple blood test to detect heart disease and heart failure in cats. In conjunction with a veterinary exam, Feline CardioCare is useful in identifying heart disease in both symptomatic and asymptomatic cats.
Feline CardioCare is less stressful on the pet and less expensive for the owner than x-ray and/or echocardiogram.
The test detects feline NT-proBNP. NT-proBNP is secreted by the heart as a result of heart disease with levels significantly elevated during heart failure.
Feline CardioCare is intended to be used to identify cats at an earlier disease stage that need to be referred for a cardiac work-up to include an echocardiogram performed by a cardiologist.
Early stages of heart disease in cats often go unrecognized. Signs may range from lethargy, decreased activity, rapid breathing, rear leg paralysis, or NO signs until sudden death. Thirty percent of cats with heart disease will have normal hearts when listened to during an exam. One of the most common types of heart disease in cats is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which typically looks like a normal heart on X-Rays and sounds like a normal heart on exam. This is a condition where the heart walls thicken, allowing less space inside the heart for blood to flow. Once definitively diagnosed, there are many medications to aid in treatment and control.