Mitral Valve Disease. Kills more Cavs than any other breed. It's believed to be a genetic defect which can start young, but pets may live a short life, or they may linger into their teens. Early detection and palliative care are imperative. Avoidance of overweight conditions and superb dental care are important. Early detection by competent veterinary cardiologists is especially important for breeders who should remove these from their programs.

Despite what is known, a great deal of CRAP is being written and read on the Internet about MVD and someone, this author, finally put the myths out with a well written, well considered article.

She writes:

I have been reading the posts of the last 24 hours with much
interest, frustration, and discouragement. I have quite
intentionally waited to respond, but I can no longer keep
silent.

Anyone who has been in this breed for any length of time
knows that mitral valve disease in Cavaliers is a very
serious problem. Cavaliers have 20 times the incidence of
MVD as the next closest breed. The age of onset seems to be
getting younger and younger. Some of the dogs live with
their disease quite well (my beloved Alfred is an example of
this), and others die of this disease at a completely
unacceptable early age. Conscientious breeders have been
repeatedly frustrated in their attempts to prevent this.
Thank goodness, the CKCSC,USA decided to become involved in
a research project with Dr James Buchanan at the Univ of PA
vet school. He, together with Dr Andrew Beardow, began the
first heart clinics held in conjunction with our shows.
Over the years, these clinics have expanded from just the
northeast portion of the US to now being held at least 2
times a year by each of the 4 regional clubs. The Canadian
Cavalier Club also is involved with a research project and
Pat Barrington has told you much about their program. And
of course, the UK Cavalier Club also has a research program
as well as Sweden. The Cavalier world is a very small one
and we are all working together and trying to share as much
information as possible.

Dr Buchanan has reported back to the Club several times over
the years. In May, the Club organized and sponsored an
International Heart Symposium in Atlanta in conjunction with
our National Specialty. It is a shame that you were not
able to be present as it was an extraordinary event. There
have been 3 major studies done on mitral valve disease in
Cavaliers; one in the UK, ours in the US and one in Sweden.
Representatives of all three of these studies were present
and spoke as well as Dr Keene from N Carolina State Vet
School who is conducting a study on drugs and MVD. I know
that the transcript of the entire symposium is in the
process of being prepared and will be made available for
sale when it is ready. The summation was prepared directly
from the tapes and is not the "memory" or "interpretation"
of its author. To the best of my knowledge, no one who
attended the symposium has questioned the accuracy of her
summary.

Several other members of the Lists have already addressed
some of your statements and I will try not to repeat too
much. You need to understand that the statements that many
of us make are NOT our own opinions; we are reporting what
the cardiologists/geneticist in the various heart study
research projects have told us.

You have challenged the Club's protocol of auscultation by
board-certified cardiologists. This was not a capricious
decision made by breeder/members. It was made on the advice
of several of the cardiologists involved in the various
studies. The quality of small animal practice vets ranges
from outstanding to pitiful, if not downright unethical. In
an attempt to work from a level playing field, the decision
was made to recommend that all auscultation be done by a
board certified cardiologist. Auscultation was made the
diagnostic method of choice, again based on the
recommendations of the cardiologists doing our heart study
research. In order to encourage our membership to use this
protocol, the regional clubs sponsor frequent heart clinics,
some free, the others usually costing $15-20 per dog. We
are encouraging our pet owners to also participate in this
program, as sibling information is very important when
dealing with a polygenic trait. Copies of all the
examinations and the pedigree of the dog examined go to Dr
Buchanan to aid in his research. You mentioned "free
dopplers" provided by the Club. This is simply not
financially feasible, but the Club did have them available
at one show for $20 per dog.

In the very beginning of the research program, I think that
Cavalier owners and breeders believed that through research,
we would identify the genes involved in MVD and then "breed
them out". We now know that the best way to solve this
serious problem is to attempt to raise the age of onset to a
high enough age that the dogs will probably die of something
else. A protocol has been recommended that is believed to
help us do this. It will be very hard for most breeders to
follow unless they are willing to make some major
sacrifices, and most will only sacrifice so far. But we can
hope that little by little, the breeders will come closer
and closer to following the protocol, and will within 3-5
yrs, be following it completely.

Ethical breeders will tell their puppy buyers what testing
they do and provide them with written documentation of it.
They will stress to their puppy buyers that these are NOT
guarantees, as at this time, we have no means of
establishing the genetic makeup of the dogs tested. It is a
good first step as we do know that dogs that themselves
manifest luxating patellas, hip dysplasia, MVD and several
other problems are far more likely to pass these diseases on
to their progeny than those who do not manifest the
diseases, even if they carry the genes for them. We know
this has worked with hip dysplasia as the OFA can show an
improvement over the past 20 years. I know of no respected
breeders who are telling their puppy buyers that if the
parents of their puppy are clear at age 2, then the puppy
will never develop MVD. Anyone who has told you this has
probably completely misunderstood what the breeder said. As
a matter of fact, many breeders tell their puppy buyers that
statistically the chances are that their Cavalier WILL at
sometime in its life develop MVD, and that is correct
(statistics provided by the various heart studies.).

You mention early spay/neuter as a possible cause of early
onset MVD. I don't think anyone - breeders, pet owners,
cardiologists doing research -want to reject any possible
theory out of hand, but the participants of the symposium
pointed out that diet, the environment, vaccinations (early
spay/neuter was not mentioned specifically but would be the
same), are pretty much the same for ALL breeds of dogs, yet
it is Cavaliers who have this dramatically greater incidence
of MVD. If it was caused by these things, we would see a

rise in other breeds as well and this just isn't so. The
standard age recommended by most veterinary schools is 5-7
months of age, regardless of breed. In addition, even
earlier spay/neuter done at 8-12 wks of age, has been being
done for 20 years with no adverse effect on the dogs
involved. Again, why would only Cavaliers have this cause
them problems? You have said:

"Breeders inform us their dogs are living longer...yet they
are not castrated, while the dogs sold for housepets are
neutered early and not living as long."

I don't know which breeders have been "informing" you of
this, but it just plain isn't so. We know that some lines
seem to produce dogs that have greater longevity than some
others, but this has been the same for both un-neutered
animals and pets from the same lines.

You have also said that "Grade 1 murmurs are usually 'flow
murmurs'" and this just isn't so. Much of the time, they
are the first indication of trouble to come. If they are
found in dogs that are breeding stock, the breeder is
advised to follow up with a doppler examination before doing
anything as drastic as spaying/neutering. If the doppler is
still inconclusive, they are advised to wait 6 months and
re-examine.

With the exception of one list member, Leanne Bertani, none
of us is a medical doctor. We are breeders, pet owners and
prospective puppy buyers. Many of the breeders and pet
owners on this List have spent many years reading everything
about MVD in Cavaliers that has been written, attending the
symposium and the other meetings where our heart study
project was reported on by the cardiologists involved. We
may not have medical backgrounds, but we are very well
informed about this subject. And of course, we know what
has happened to our own dogs.

No one wants to pick on you, nor do any of us question your
medical knowledge in your own field. But it is very hard
for us to sit here and read message after message telling us
that we know little or nothing about this subject, and that
we are going about this whole subject in the wrong way. We
are trying to digest everything we are told by the
cardiologists who ARE experts, and as we are not medically
trained, we must put our trust in the people who have the
most experience with and knowledge of this subject, namely
the researchers involved. None of us thinks we "know it
all" - we are ALL still learning and most of us are trying
very hard to to implement the information given to us by the
various heart study researchers. We can do no more.

--
Suzanne R Brown
THATCHCOTE Cavaliers
Louisville, KY and Fryeburg, ME