ARVC Breed Survey-- Please Participate!

[Lemko Boxer]

Here's my contribution to the ARVC gene test debate. This was posted to the Showboxer-List yesterday. Thought some of you who are not on the list might appreciate seeing it... The more people that know about it and share, the better.
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Okay, if you are like me you are sitting here scratching your head over the current ARVC gene test situation. The data, the lack of data, this researcher, that researcher, he said, she said, and so on.
 
If you are like me you want to do the best for the breed we all love. Our undying love and passion for the boxer brings us all together, but right now, it is also ripping some of us apart.
 
If you are like me you want to see data. Data about holter results, longevity and the absence or presence of this particular gene mutation. This is the kind of information I think we all need to do our best in making breeding decisions, or not, based on this particular genetic mutation.
 
In my quest to have this type of useful data available to all of those who care, I decided to put together a webpage. A webpage where one can *see* a list of dogs holter results and their ARVC mutation 1 status. Of course the usefulness of such a list will be dependent on participation. I am not sure what the rest of you think of this idea, but if you think this type of data would be valuable to have and share, please send me your dogs information! Here's a place to prove your side of the argument, but that's only if you share your dogs info. I will keep dogs anonymous if requested, however, I do think the inclusion of real names would provide the best data.
 
You can see my ARVC Stats webpage here:
 
http://www.lemkoboxers.com/ARVCstats
 
Please send your info, and thanks for reading this far!
 

[Lisa]

   This is a great idea and I hope you get lots of participation to help us figure this disease out.  Koda is heterozygous, I plan to holter him probably within the next year and will give you his results then if you are still collecting them and interested in pet results as well as Conformation show and breeding dogs.

[Lemko Boxer]

Thanks Lisa...

I am interested in any and all boxers who have been holtered and tested for the ARVC 1 mutation... Doesn't matter if they are pet or show. The more data on the list the better.

[Bugsys Mom]

Capone had one holter and he had all 0's.  He has not been tested fro ARVC.  But, you have his sire so you know half the picture already. 

[Rubidawg]

Capone had one holter and he had all 0's.  He has not been tested fro ARVC.  But, you have his sire so you know half the picture already. 

LOL Grady was also holtered and had all 0's as well.

[Lemko Boxer]

Okay... I need more dogs ; ) Especially from some of the UK dogs... The ones that seem to be the most different from what were were expecting 

Right now I have some on the site and have been working on adding a bunch more... Keep em' coming 

I know about Grady and Capones holters... In fact I am listing that Harley's had a bunch of holter clear offspring in the notes section.

[BurningRiver]

Very interesting. . . Even more so to see that Solitol didn't appear to work at all for a couple of the dogs on the list.

[jesticboxers]

I love what Jessica is doing, I'm in the process of going through all my dogs health testing and emailing it to her.

I hope many people participate as it can only help our breed further. And learn where to go with our breeding programs.

The more I find out about the ARVC test and results is that we still need to look back on health testing over time and longevity within a pedigree when picking a stud dog or purchasing a puppy. But that is just me.

Thank you for putting this together Jessica, I hope a lot of people participate!

[BranwenBoxers]

Hey Jess  I will get Millies and Rips done sometime in the next couple  months for your list .   

[Lemko Boxer]

I have 35 entries now... The last two are interesting. Hoping more and more people will contribute. The more dogs on there the better picture (or lack of picture) there will be 

[RocketBoxer]

I have 35 entries now... The last two are interesting. Hoping more and more people will contribute. The more dogs on there the better picture (or lack of picture) there will be 

I don't know that Willow is that interesting. She very obviously has very bad SAS and hasn't been given long to live. I don't understand why she keeps being used as an example of why there is a problem with the test - we all should know by know that there are many diseases and sicknesses that can cause PVC's, so don't you think that really bad SAS could have caused the PVC's?
A friend of mine also has a dog who has many PVC's but that dog also has had cancer - and according to Dr Meurs the cancer caused damage to his heart.

For it to be interesting you need dogs who have tested Negative, who are in perfect condition health-wise except for the fact that they are throwing thousands of PVCs - and who continue to stay healthy (to disprove the fact that there is something else wrong with them).

[Lemko Boxer]

I don't know that Willow is that interesting. She very obviously has very bad SAS and hasn't been given long to live. I don't understand why she keeps being used as an example of why there is a problem with the test - we all should know by know that there are many diseases and sicknesses that can cause PVC's, so don't you think that really bad SAS could have caused the PVC's?

I don't disagree at all with you. Many other things can cause pvc's which is why it is important to look at the whole picture of health in each individual dog. That is part of why we listed that she does have SAS... So people can see the whole picture.

For it to be interesting you need dogs who have tested Negative, who are in perfect condition health-wise except for the fact that they are throwing thousands of PVCs - and who continue to stay healthy (to disprove the fact that there is something else wrong with them).

While it is debatable whether Willow's pvc's are a result of her severe SAS or not, I find it interesting that there are a lot of positive dogs on this list so far that are not acting "affected." Granted we know that ARVC can be a late onset disease, but the next to last entry is almost 11yrs and just had a great holter and has no history of ARVC behind her. Several others, both positive heterozygous and positive homozygous, also have had multiple good holters and no history of ARVC in any immediate relatives. What does that mean? Well, I am waiting for the answers hopefully to come from the reserachers soon!

[aquagirl900]

Sorry to sound stupid, but what is a single, run, etc...what is a PVC..obviously it has to do with the heart, but what exactly is happening in the heart with a PVC?

[fairview Boxers]

A PVC is a Premature Ventricular Complex... basically the ventricle part of the heart isn't matching the atrial beats of the heart.  (an arrythmia)  A single is just one PVC, a run is when there are several "singles" in a row.....

[Lemko Boxer]

pvc also= premature ventricular contraction

Another way to think of a pvc is a hiccup, or a stutter. A heartbeat has several parts to it where the different valves and chambers work together to effectively maximize each heartbeat.
In a normal heartbeat the ventricles contract after the the oxygen rich blood coming from the lungs has filled them. During a pvc, the ventricles contract too early... So there is no or little blood in the ventricles to pump out to the body.
Basically, the heart muscle spasm's and does not complete the normal rhythmic pulse that it should.

A single pvc is just one pvc followed by normal heartbeats. A dog can have single isolated pvcs and be fine since the heart beats so many times a minute to compensate for random single "stutters."

A couplet is two pvcs together... So a longer blip of abnormal heart rhythm.
A run is 3 or more pvcs together. Runs are what can cause syncope, or fainting, in association with pvcs. If you get into runs where 6 or 7 or more pvs occur together that means 6 or 7 or more heartbeats that are not pumping blood to the brain, and the lack of oxygen in the body and brain of course very bad. Dogs that die from ARVC when the heart goes into a extended "spasm" without returning to a normal heart rhythm.

Oh and on WIllow... FWIW. I asked her owner if she's been diagnosed with ARVC by a cardiologist and yes she has been diagnosed by a cardiologist at Texas A&M. She regulary sees this specialist and has been diagnosed with both ARVC and SAS.