diet associated heart disease
Research suggests a link between some grain-free, legume-rich dog diets and taurine-deficient dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in Golden Retrievers. Studies are suggesting that taurine deficiency and dilated cardiomyopathy in golden retrievers is likely multifactorial, including a combination of dietary, metabolic, and genetic factors.
DCM is a serious disease of the heart muscle which causes the heart to beat weakly and to enlarge. DCM is the second most common heart disease in dogs. It is primarily considered to be an inherited or genetic disease with a higher prevalence in specific breeds such as Doberman Pinschers and Great Danes.
Recently, several publications have reported concerns about cases of DCM in unusual breeds such as the Golden Retriever and associated them with specific diets (grain-free, high in pulses or potatoes, or low in taurine and amino acid precursors).
A unique feature of this form of secondary DCM is the hearts of dogs with DCM due to nutritional causes can improve with diet change, something we don’t see in dogs with inherited DCM.
Associated diets – not just grain-free Many have linked diet-associated DCM with grain-free diets. In fact, it appears to be more closely associated with diets containing pulses, rather than with the presence or absence of grains in a diet. Most dogs with diet-associated DCM have been eating non-traditional diets for over one year (sometimes many years), so DCM does not seem to develop immediately after eating these diets and not every dog that eats these diets develops heart problems. To date this issue has only been documented in America.
Science Papers
- Taurine deficiency and dilated cardiomyopathy in golden retrievers fed commercial diets.
- Preliminary Data on Echocardiographic Evaluation and Serum Taurine Concentration in Healthy Dogs of Two Breeds (10 Golden Retrievers and 12 German Shorthaired Pointers) with Different Predispositions to Nutritional Dilated Cardiomyopathy: A Pilot Study
- Development of plasma and whole blood taurine reference ranges and identification of dietary features associated with taurine deficiency and dilated cardiomyopathy in golden retrievers: A prospective, observational study
- Effect of type of diet on blood and plasma taurine concentrations, cardiac biomarkers, and echocardiograms in 4 dog breeds
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