Congestive Heart Failure in the Cat

SUMMARY Congestive heart failure was diagnosed by means of clinical, radiographic, and necropsy findings in 129 of 45,004 cats examined from January, 1962, to June, 1969, in a hospital clinic in New York City. Twenty-two cats had congenital anomalies of the heart, and 107 cats had acquired cardiac lesions. Of the cats with congenital cardiac defects, 77% were less than 1 year of age. The mean age of the 107 cats with acquired heart failure was 7.68 years (minimum, 7 months; maximum, 24 years). Of those with congenital anomalies, 12 were male and 10 were female; and of those with acquired heart disease, 63 were male, 43 were female, and the sex of 1 was unknown. Clinical signs of the affected cats included sudden onset of dyspnea and lethargy, posterior paralysis, absence of femoral pulses, and coldness of extremities. Pulmonary congestion, cardiomegaly, enlargement of the left atrium, and pleural effusion were often observed on radiographic examination. Various congenital anomalies, acquired endocardial and myocardial fibrosis, hypertrophy or dilatation of the ventricles and atria, pulmonary congestion with the presence of heart failure cells in the alveoli, and thrombi in the aorta and pulmonary arteries were frequently encountered pathologic changes.