Mitral Valve Disease
We are grateful to Anne Marie Rasmussen from Canada who has written about :
Mitral Valve Disease
What is Mitral Valve Disease (MVD)?
The heart consists of 4 chambers, 2 atria and 2 ventricles, with the atrioventricular valves ensuring that blood flows from the atria to the ventricles when the heart is beating. A defect or weakness in the mitral valve or the left atrioventricular valve allows some blood to move back into the left atrium, known as mitral regurgitation. This means the heart is less efficient at pumping blood through the body.
Mitral valve insuffiency is the most common of the acquired cardiac disesase in older dogs, affecting over 1/3 of dogs older than 10 years. However, in certain breeds, mitral valve insufficiency develops at a younger age, due to an inherited predisposition for the disorder.