Quote Originally Posted by applesmom
borzoinmom, this is a new one on me. Can you explain what you mean by deep chambered heart breed? Aren't all dogs hearts the same other than size?
No- after having EKG's done on shepherds etc., and spending alot of time with the top veternary hospital in our state- I learned a few years back that several of the giant breeds have a different heart in respects to the chamber of the heart- the amount of blood it circulates, etc. Its also the reason that they have a slower pulse etc. The chamber is deeper, and thicker in the muscle wall. Some theories are that this is to protect the heart more from a blow, some reason its because its to move the amount of oxygen- carried through the blood, for the brain function etc.
YOu can tell by the ultrasounds, images etc the heart of a giant breed. Its also the reason a large breed can have a microvalve prolapse, and other heart problems more than a smaller dog. Its also supports the belief for most giant breeds to on average live shorter lives- although not totally consistant as like the Borzoi is a long lived breed. However- their ultrasound of their hearts has a more average size heart wall and not as pronounced deeper chest.
My point is with the deeper chambers- and more heart valve muscle- this can be stored longer in the heart than a smaller or average size breed. This consistantly shows up in breeds that average over a 100 pounds. Its was quite intesting to say the least.. I had Hottie done in the same place a few years back- and the deepness of the heart chamber amazed me. With a strong heart muscle- what would have been interputred- not knowing the breed- would have looked like at one point he had a heart attack.. The reason I went to the specialist- sure enough- same reasoning. They said because of this to also watch anethesia- a procedure I was always told was something to watch because of the lightness of body fat- the fact is- with the deeper chambers- the anethesia would stay in the body longer as it takes longer to circulate out of the heart valve muscles. After spending that money on a specialist- although it cost more money- the relief to know that situation did not exist was well worth the money.