Quality of Life Score as a Predictor of Death in Dogs with Degenerative Mitral Valve Disease.

Background: The knowledge of the variables predicting mortality is important in clinical practice and for therapeutic monitoring in mitral valve disease.

Objectives: To determine whether a quality of life score evaluated with the Functional Evaluation of Cardiac Health questionnaire would predict mortality in dogs with degenerative mitral valve disease (DMVD).

Methods: Thirty-six client-owned dogs with mitral valve disease underwent clinical, laboratory, and echocardiographic evaluations at baseline and were monitored for 6 months.