Boxer dog cardiomyopathy: an update.

Boxer dog cardiomyopathy is an inheritable form of myocardial disease characterized most commonly by ventricular tachycardias, syncope, and, sometimes, systolic dysfunction and heart failure. Careful evaluation of boxer dog cardiomyopathy by several investigators has demonstrated that the disease may be best classified as arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. Affected dogs have a variable prognosis; although some succumb to sudden cardiac death, many can remain asymptomatic or be successfully managed on antiarrhythmics for years. Copyright 2004 Elsevier Inc.