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Section: Information In-depth
Chronic valvular heart disease is a degenerative condition, probably predisposed by genetic factors. It is not caused by an infection or related to bad teeth, although this is a common misconception. The essential valvular abnormalities are either increased "floppiness" of the mitral valve in the heart, or more often, shortening and thickening of this valve. The tricuspid heart valve is also affected in some cats. The degeneration causes the valves to close improperly. Leaking of the valve causes blood to move backwards creating a heart murmur and limiting the amount of blood that can be pumped to the body. Severe leaking can occur when one or more of the fine strands that support the valve (the chordae tendineae) rupture. A percentage of cats with chronic mitral disease develop a condition called pulmonary hypertension, which is high blood pressure in the arteries of the lung.
In atrial fibrillation the normally coordinated electrical activity in the upper heart chambers, the right atrium and left atrium, is lost. The muscle of these chambers begins to wiggle like a "bag full...
Heart failure is a condition, caused by an abnormality in the structure or the function of the heart, in which it is unable to pump normal quantities of blood to the tissues of the body.
Abdominal distension is an abnormal enlargement of the abdominal cavity. This term is usually reserved for abdominal enlargement due to causes other than simple obesity, such as fluid accumulation.
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