SIGNALMENT, SURVIVAL, AND PROGNOSTIC FACTORS IN DOBERMAN-PINSCHERS WITH END-STAGE CARDIOMYOPATHY

Congestive heart failure (CHF) was evaluated by retrospective review o f case records of 66 Doberman Pinschers presenting with overt signs of 2 weeks' duration or less. Left-sided CHF was predominant, the majori ty of dogs were male, most were 5 to 10 years of age, and CHF tended t o occur in females at an older age. Sudden death occurred in 13 dogs ( 20%). The mean and median survival times of all dogs were 9.65 and 6.5 weeks, respectively. Both atrial fibrillation and bilateral CHF at th e time of presentation were associated with significantly shorter surv ival times. Copyright (C) 1997 by the American College of Veterinary I nternal Medicine.