Heart Disease In Cats Life Expectancy. Upon the onset of congestive heart failure, life. Life expectancy in cats with cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure is shortened to 18 months or less, with six months on average.
Early diagnosis of the disease truly makes a difference when it comes to prognosis. The two most common types of congenital heart disease are malformations of a valve or a septal defect in the wall that divides the right and left sides of the heart. If the problem is treated soon, the cat can live for years, being free of symptoms.
Most feline heart disorders are acquired during the course of an animal’s life, but others are present at birth.
Two distinct types of kidney disease affect cats: One in six cats can be born with or develop heart disease in its lifetime. The heart muscle is often very thin and the ability of the heart to pump is diminished. However, says john bonagura, dvm, a professor of veterinary clinical sciences at the ohio state university veterinary hospital, congenital feline cardiac disease is relatively rare, occurring only in an estimated one or two percent.