This is why heart screening programs are commonly offered to dogs known to be at-risk breeds. Often there are no symptoms until the patient becomes critically ill or collapses. For example, hypothyroidism, heart rhythm disturbances and myocarditis (inflammatory heart muscle disease) can lead to DCM.ĭCM is a worrying disease due to its silent nature. In addition, DCM may occur secondary to other medical conditions. It is particularly prevalent in Doberman pinschers and Irish wolfhounds. There are, of course, other causes of DCM, breed predisposition being the most widely documented. However, more research is needed in this field to determine exactly why this occurs and at what degree of deficiency. This irreversible change in the heart can lead to life-threatening heart disease and ultimately heart failure, arrhythmias and sudden cardiac arrest. This impairs the heart’s ability to contract and pump blood around the body. In doing so, the cardiac muscle wall becomes thinner and more floppy. DCM is a serious condition where the heart’s chambers dilate and become bigger. There is mounting evidence that taurine and carnitine deficiencies can lead to dilated cardiomyopathy in dogs (DCM). Why do I need to give my dog taurine and carnitine? It is vital in producing the heart’s energy to contract and beat.
Because producing energy is the key function of carnitine, it is concentrated at high levels in muscle cells. Carnitine also assists in the removal of toxic products from these mitochondria. Carnitine is crucial in helping cells make energy within mitochondria – tiny ‘energy factories’ found within each cell of the body. However, this isomer is less valuable to the body. Carnitine also exists in different forms when the molecule is a slightly different shape (e.g. Carnitine is also known as L-carnitine or levocarnitine.
Like taurine, carnitine can be synthesised from other amino acids. Pretty impressive, really! What is carnitine? It influences calcium levels inside cells which affects the heartbeat, and it functions as an antioxidant which can protect the heart. However, more notably, taurine is essential in building heart muscle. Body systems relying on taurine include the muscles of the skeleton, the central nervous system, and the production of bile which allows fat to be digested. In the case of taurine, it is critical in many life-sustaining processes. And the specific amino acid levels in their diets are not being so closely regulated as in cat foods.Īll amino acids contribute to the healthy functioning of the body. But, on the flip side, it can be much harder to determine whether our dog is producing enough taurine – although they can make it, they aren’t very efficient at doing so. This sounds like great news for our canines. In contrast, dogs can transform other sulphur-containing amino acids, such as methionine and cysteine, into taurine. Commercial cat foods are regulated to ensure that taurine levels are adequate. Cats, however, are unusual as they cannot synthesise taurine themselves, and they rely on it being available in its original form in their food. Taurine is abundant in meat and can be obtained directly from the diet.
Taurine is an amino acid, a building block that makes important proteins in the body.
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