FACTS about DCM ~ Do you REALLY know?

[dobesign]

Facts about DCM
I am editing Brenna Spencer's post with this introduction. Those of you who are DPCA members may have been reading the discussion on the members only chat list. It is apparent to us that so much mis-information about DCM has been disseminated over the years, most people simply do not understand what DCM is and what it is not.

For personal and professional reasons Brenna is very knowledgeable about DCM. We have asked that she take the time to write about it. Our hope is that we all become better educated about what DCM is, and what it is not.
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What are the presenting forms of DCM?:confused:
How many other causes of cardiac failure occur in our breed?:confused:
Do you know what the difference is?:eek:

I'm not trying to be a snot here. Truly. I would like feedback about how the Doberman community perceives DCM and other cardiac events. I'm thinking that BEFORE DPCA tells us how to regulate the breed, should THEY not know what test is effective for detecting the various diseases? Perhaps the ONLY way we can eliminate ALL the forms of cardiac failure from our breed, is to EDUCATE ourselves on the disease itself, in ALL of it's forms, DCM and other conditions. Knowledge is power.

I am contemplating generating an informative booklet entitled something like "Your Doberman's Heart: an illustrated guide for Non-Medical People." What do you think? We can disagree about parts, and agree about parts, but at bare minimum, we MUST have an EDUCATED dialogue. We need to know. Our Dobermans need us to know. Please let me know what YOU THINK!

[Sonquest]

Hey Brenna,
GO FOR IT!!!!! :D:D
I for one would love a copy!!! ;)

Tina

[Athy]

I think it would be helpful. Right now, I'm a little apprehensive about so much "education" coming from salespeople.

Athy...

[perfdogs]

I am contemplating generating an informative booklet entitled something like "Your Doberman's Heart: an illustrated guide for Non-Medical People." What do you think? We can disagree about parts, and agree about parts, but at bare minimum, we MUST have an EDUCATED dialogue. We need to know. Our Dobermans need us to know. Please let me know what YOU THINK![/QUOTE]

I lost 2 Dobes to cardio before we had any treatments except human drugs in the early 80's. I studied up on it as much as I could, and have kept up with anything new that was published. all that is to say that there are volumes of material out there, and much of it doesn't agree........ A booklet as you are suggesting is a GREAT idea for those who just want to know, and those that need to be educated in a hurry for tragic reasons. I for one would be glad to buy bunches to distribute, and to learn more myself! I say

"GO FOR IT!

[Athy]

I'm looking forward to the writeup as well as photographs of the two of them in their black tie attire :)

[Elaine]

I'm looking forward to the writeup as well as photographs of the two of them in their black tie attire :) Athy, one of our DSNN members has a very very sick little Dobbie girl. In addition to the awards ceremony tonight (where Tungsten will be on stage in a Tux), Brenna is working to help. She may not be able to post for a while... but she'll be back ASAP. And we will have updates on our precious girl when we know more.

[Sheila]

I agree with Tina. ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC IDEA. How wonderful of you to consider doing this booklet!!!

Sheila

[dobesign]

I want to hear from you guys! This is not an exclusively doberman issue. What do you think should be made available, informationally speaking? Which questions do you discuss amongst yourselves? I've personally seen many, "Well why did YOUR dog's DCM look so different than MY dog's DCM?" or, "I think it's caused by YOUR food, you should try mine!" or "DCM only affects red males over 4." or...what have YOU heard?

[andyhilt27]

I would love to see a comparsion of similarities and differences between canine DCM and human DCM.

Being thought to be epigenetic raises many questions in my head. What environmental factors play roles in the developement? Polygentic also comes to mind. What genes weigh more in the developement of DCM?

[Elaine]

I want to hear from you guys! This is not an exclusively doberman issue. What do you think should be made available, informationally speaking? Which questions do you discuss amongst yourselves? I've personally seen many, "Well why did YOUR dog's DCM look so different than MY dog's DCM?" or, "I think it's caused by YOUR food, you should try mine!" or "DCM only affects red males over 4." or...what have YOU heard?
I think a basic primer on what DCM is, and what it is not… i.e. that every heart related death is not DCM would be a good starting point. And then I’d like you to expand about on the thought about testing an elliptic who was not having a seizure at the time of the testing,

[dobesign]

I've heard a lot of people say that their dog does NOT have DCM because the test did not show DCM. That is the equivalent of saying that a person does not have epilepsy because they did NOT seizure at the time of the test. You can have both false positives and negatives on auscultation and on Holter monitor AND on lead II testing. It is simply a diagnostic tool, NOT a diagnosis. If a dog throw 1 PVC (pre ventricular contraction) on a strip, does that mean he/she has DCM? PFFFFFT NO! It means we have to investigate further. If a dog does NOT throw a PVC, does it mean he doesn't have DCM? Well, since the predisposing feature of DCM, Dilated (stretched out) Cardio (heart) Myo (muscle) Pathy (pathological process) then no, it doesn't say that either. It DOES say that we need to find out why the heart is misfiring (which, incidentally is an electrical problem, not a "baggy stretched out" problem directly). Great example, Elaine!!!

[doberdogsfd]

Brenna....Knowledge is power!!
I like what everyone has put forth so far all excellent quetions and needed info.
I would like to see what role conditioning,nutrition and as Andy said, environment may or may not play.

Brenna....I will email you privately if that is ok ? I have an example I would like to give, plus ask a couple other questions.

This is good stuff........Cheryl

[dobesign]

Email me privately with your topics on DCM or things related! This is such a touchy topic, and anyone who does email me privately, all names will be kept confidential. It's not about who has what. It's about how we can help ourselves through knowledge and communication! Thanks folks for being so open-minded!:cool: