For indoor adult cats, the number one cause of sudden death is heart disease, and what most often causes heart disease in cats is a thickening of the heart muscle that weakens the heart—something the doctors call “hypertrophic cardiomyopathy,” or HCM.
Symptoms of HCM may include a lack of energy, loss of appetite and faster or more labored breathing. But to help determine if cats actually have this condition, the good doctors at Cat Hospital now can perform a new blood test called NT-pro-BNP. (The abbreviation stands for “N terminal pro Brain Natriuretic Peptide.”) ProBNP is a protein released by the heart when its muscles experience physical stress (such as muscle stretch or increased tension in the muscles that form the walls of the chambers of the heart), which is typical in cats with heart disease. So if veterinarians find out that you have elevated proBNP, it could be a clue that you have heart disease.
Cardiac ultrasound is still the gold standard for diagnosing heart disease in cats, and it’s still the best way for doctors to decide how to treat the heart disease. But in some cats, the proBNP test can help identify heart disease in cats, including those cats that have a heart murmur but appear otherwise healthy. Also, once a “bedside” proBNP test is developed (a test that can be run in a hospital with immediate results rather than being sent to an outside laboratory), the proBNP also may be helpful in emergency situations to help determine whether breathing difficulties are due to respiratory versus cardiac issues.
If doctors determine that you have HCM, they can help you manage it with drugs that are designed to relax the heart and to prevent blood clots from forming. They might also prescribe a low-sodium diet and rest. Cat Hospital doctors can provide much more information the next time you visit.
