FDA warning dog owner’s of dog food brands linked to serious heart disease

An FDA release is showing an alarming connection between dog food and heart disease.

In July 2018, the FDA announced that it had begun investigating reports of canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in dogs eating certain pet foods, many labeled as “grain-free,” which contained a high proportion of peas, lentils, other legume seeds (pulses), and/or potatoes in various forms (whole, flour, protein, etc.) as main ingredients (listed within the first 10 ingredients in the ingredient list, before vitamins and minerals). Many of these case reports included breeds of dogs not previously known to have a genetic predisposition to the disease. The FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) and the Veterinary Laboratory Investigation and Response Network (Vet-LIRN), a collaboration of government and veterinary diagnostic laboratories, continue to investigate this potential association.

The illnesses can be severe and even fatal.

Between January 1, 2014 and April 30, 2019, the FDA received 524 reports of DCM (515 canine reports, 9 feline reports). Approximately 222 of these were reported between December 1, 2018 and April 30, 2019 (219 canine reports, 3 feline reports). Some of these reports involved more than one affected animal from the same household.

The breeds who were most reported to have DCM

Courtesy of the FDA.

The dog food brands that were most frequently reported in DCM cases, according to the FDA, are:

Acana: 67
Zignature: 64
Taste of the Wild: 53
4Health: 32
Earthborn Holistic: 32
Blue Buffalo: 31
Nature’s Domain: 29
Fromm: 24
Merrick: 16
California Natural: 15
Natural Balance: 15
Orijen: 12
Nature’s Variety: 11
NutriSource: 10
Nutro: 10
Rachael Ray Nutrish: 10

For more on the entire report, click here.