Pimobendan use in cats with advanced heart disease

Feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the most common heart disease in cats. One of the most devastating potential effects of this disease is formation of a blood clot in the heart, as the heart dilates and its ability to contract reduces. This leads to the very painful and often fatal condition of an arterial blood clot when the clot eventually leaves the heart. Given the severity of pain associated with this condition, as well as a poor scenario, euthanasia rates at the time of the initial finding of arterial clot are high, and survival time if patients do survive the initial critical period is generally also short.

Our study investigates the medication, pimobendan as a potential treatment option to decrease likelihood of formation of an arterial clots. In a recent study conducted by the Cardiology Service at The Ohio State University Veterinary Medical College, pimobendan increased heart function in cats, but the specific effects on cats with heart enlargement, the group who would most benefit from improved function, has not definitively been established.

The goal of our study is to show whether pimobendan will improve heart function in cats with advanced heart disease and moderate to severe heart enlargement and dysfunction, specifically by increasing performance of the heart and increasing blood flow.