Signalment, survival, and prognostic factors in Doberman pinschers with end-stage cardiomyopathy.

Congestive heart failure (CHF) was evaluated by retrospective review of case records of 66 Doberman Pinschers presenting with overt signs of 2 weeks' duration or less. Left-sided CHF was predominant, the majority of dogs were male, most were 5 to 10 years of age, and CHF tended to occur in females at an older age. Sudden death occurred in 13 dogs (20%). The mean and median survival times of all dogs were 9.65 and 6.5 weeks, respectively. Both atrial fibrillation and bilateral CHF at the time of presentation were associated with significantly shorter survival times.