Veterinary cardiologist discovers gene for heart disease

Washington State University veterinary cardiologist Kathryn M. Meurs has discovered a mutant gene in the Boxer breed that causes a type of heart disease that can be fatal in animals and humans. Well known in the Boxer breed community, the disease is called Boxer cardiomyopathy. The more formal term is arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy or ARVC. This is same type of heart disease that caused the sudden death of 1950s college and pro football great Joe Campanella at age 36, as he played handball with the new head coach of the Baltimore Colts, Don Shula. In Boxers, the disease can be fatal and frequently occurs when the animals exercise or become excited. Occasionally, they perish from the disease while at rest, too. "Dr. Meurs' discovery of both the gene and its location is a tremendous achievement in the cardiology of humans and animals," said Bryan Slinker, dean of WSU's College of Veterinary Medicine, and a recognized cardiac disease researcher. "This achievement not only helps Boxer breeders avoid this disease but it also provides an extraordinary advancement to the study of human heart diseases resulting from electrical conduction defects and the resulting heart muscle changes that occur." - newswise