Long‐term incidence and risk of noncardiovascular and all‐cause mortality in apparently healthy cats and cats with preclinical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic knowledge regarding noncardiovascular and all‐cause mortality in apparently healthy cats (AH) and cats with preclinical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (pHCM) is limited, hindering development of evidence‐based healthcare guidelines. OBJECTIVES: To characterize/compare incidence rates, risk, and survival associated with noncardiovascular and all‐cause mortality in AH and pHCM cats. ANIMALS: A total of 1730 client‐owned cats (722 AH, 1008 pHCM) from 21 countries. METHODS: Retrospective, multicenter, longitudinal, cohort study. Long‐term health data were extracted by medical record review and owner/referring veterinarian interviews. RESULTS: Noncardiovascular death occurred in 534 (30.9%) of 1730 cats observed up to 15.2 years. Proportion of noncardiovascular death did not differ significantly between cats that at study enrollment were AH or had pHCM (P = .48). Cancer, chronic kidney disease, and conditions characterized by chronic weight‐loss‐vomiting‐diarrhea‐anorexia were the most frequently recorded noncardiovascular causes of death. Incidence rates/risk of noncardiac death increased with age in AH and pHCM. All‐cause death proportions were greater in pHCM than AH (65% versus 40%, respectively; P < .001) because of higher cardiovascular mortality in pHCM cats. Comparing AH with pHCM, median survival (study entry to noncardiovascular death) did not differ (AH, 9.8 years; pHCM, 8.6 years; P = .10), but all‐cause survival was significantly shorter in pHCM (P = .0001). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: All‐cause mortality was significantly greater in pHCM cats due to disease burden contributed by increased cardiovascular death superimposed upon noncardiovascular death.