Sphynx Cat Association's "Healthy Heart" Scheme

Feline Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM)

(Cardio = heart, myopathy = muscle disease, hypertrophic = thickened)

Feline Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common heart disease seen in felines.

The main feature of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy is excessive thickening of the left ventricular wall, papillary muscles & septum.  This enlargement causes stiffening & prevents the heart from expanding (to receive blood) properly.  It may also reduce the ability of the valves to work properly, and in some circumstances obstruct the flow of blood out of the heart. Arrhythmias, irregularities of the heart beat and conduction disturbances are also common complications of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. 

The thickened wall sometimes distorts one leaflet of the mitral valve, causing it to leak. Fluid can leak into the lungs causing heart failure.  Blood clots can form in the left atrium & be carried into the systemic arterial system, most often lodging in the terminal artery, causing paralysis of the hind legs.

Aims

To encourage Sphynx breeders to heart scan their breeding Sphynx cats at least annually, in an effort to reduce the incidence of HCM in the breed. Breeders are also encouraged to share scan results with fellow breeders so that informed choices can be made about the suitability of cats used for breeding.

The Sphynx Cat Association strongly recommends that all breeding Sphynx Cats are heart scanned annually, and any showing signs of a heart abnormality are removed from the breeding programme. 

Heart scanning should be carried out by suitably qualified persons only.  For a list of qualified Veterinary Specialists, please click here.  Please note that this list is not comprehensive.

Breeders and purchasers alike should be aware that a negative heart scan does not indicate that a cat will never develop HCM; it merely means that on the day the cat was tested, it did not display any signs of HCM.

Members who are actively heart scanning their Sphynx are invited to apply for our "Healthy Hearts" logo, which may be displayed on their website.  Please contact our Club Secretary for more information.  In addition, members joining our "Healthy Hearts" scheme, will be entitled to have a "blue heart" placed next to the breeder's name on our Breeders page, to indicate currently heart scanning catteries.