Bloat: Danger Will Robinson! Danger!
Bloat: a life-threatening condition in which the stomach fills with air, which is called dilatation, and then it might twist upon itself, which is called volvulus. This leads to the veterinary term, Gastric Dilatation and Volvulus, or GDV.
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| Veterinary Medical Center of Long Island |
Symptoms:
Your
pet's abdomen may or may not have a bloated appearance. Signs of bloat can
also include:
- drooling
- frequent retching (attempts to vomit)
- pacing, can’t seem to get comfortable, anxious
- or lethargic
What
to Do:
Go
to a veterinary hospital or emergency facility immediately!
What
NOT to Do:
Do
not give anything by mouth or try to induce vomiting.
What happens to your
dog in GDV:
The
condition is commonly associated with large meals and causes the stomach to
dilate because of expansion of the food and the production of gas and may get
to a point where neither may be expelled. As the stomach begins to dilate
and rotate, the pressure in the stomach begins to increase and several severe
consequences, including preventing adequate blood return to the heart from the
abdomen, loss of blood flow to the lining of the stomach, and rupture of the
stomach wall can occur. As the stomach expands, it may also put pressure
on the diaphragm preventing the lungs from adequately expanding, which leads to
decreased ability to maintain normal breathing.
While
the stomach is twisted, changes occur in blood levels of oxygen leading to cell
death in other organs. Cardiac
arrhythmias (abnormal heart beats) are commonly seen because of the hypoxia
(low oxygen). Additionally, the lining of the entire gastrointestinal
tract is at risk of cell death and sloughing. As the condition progresses,
toxins may be increasing the cells of the stomach and when gastric dilatation
is relieved these may circulate through the body resulting in additional heart
arrhythmias, acute kidney failure, and liver failure. Bacteria also get into
the blood during this condition leading to sepsis.
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| Ohio State University |
Prevention
No one entity has
been shown to prevent this disease process. There is a lot of debate over
risk factors that contribute to bloat. However, feeding smaller more frequent meals, and making
sure fat is not in the top 4 ingredients in your pet’s diet are proven to
reduce the risk of bloat.
Elevated feeding bowls
may actually increase the risk of GDV in some patients. Elevated citric
acid in the diet may increase risk, but bone and meat meal in the top 4
ingredients appear to reduce the risk. It
appears that dogs who eat rapidly, eat one large meal a day, consume a large
volume of water, or exercise soon after a meal also have increased risk.
In
breeds with a high risk of bloat, there is a preventive surgery called a
prophylactic gastropexy that can often be performed when the dog is being
spayed or neutered, or while young if the pet is going to be bred. Most police and military service dogs have
this procedure performed at a young age to protect them. Gastropexy involves surgically attaching the
stomach to the wall of the abdomen to prevent rotation.
Other
risk factors:
Discontinuing
breeding animals with a family history of GDV may potentially decrease the risk
of GDV. Male dogs are almost twice as
likely to develop gastric dilatation and volvulus as females. Neutering and
spaying does not appear to have an effect on the risk of bloat. Dogs over 7 years of age are more than twice
as likely to develop gastric dilatation and volvulus as those who are 2-4 years
of age.
Any dog of any size can develop bloat,
but large and giant breeds with a deep chest are most at risk.
The five breeds at greatest risk are Great Danes, Weimaraners, St. Bernards, Gordon Setters, and Irish Setters. In fact, the lifetime risk for a Great Dane to develop bloat has been estimated to be close to 37 percent! Standard Poodles are also at risk for this health problem, as are Irish Wolfhound, Doberman Pinschers, Rottweilers and Rhodesian Ridgebacks. Basset Hounds have the greatest risk for dogs less than 50 lbs.
What the surgeon does
to fix this when it occurs:
The
pet will be put on IV fluids and oxygen, and attempts to decompress the stomach
will be tried. We try to put a tube down
into the stomach to relieve pressure, and if that cannot be done successfully,
we will pass a needle into the stomach from the outside to release air. Sometimes this then lets us pass a stomach
tube as well. Then as soon as the pet is
as stable as we can make it for surgery, it is off to surgery where the surgeon
will determine if the stomach and spleen (which often gets entrapped in the
rotating process and damaged) are viable.
The surgeon will de-rotate the stomach, remove any dead portions of the
stomach, and possibly remove the spleen, and do a gastropexy to attempt to
prevent this from happening again in the future. After surgery, complications can include the
organ failure listed above, but again, the survival rate is much better
nowadays with quick surgical intervention.
Survival rates used to be less than 10% a few decades ago, but now is
60-80% depending on how much damage occurs during the progression of the
disease. So get that bloated dog to a
hospital ASAP!
BLOG WRITTEN BY:
Dr. Dana Lewis
Dr.
Dana assists families with Pet Hospice and Euthanasia in the Raleigh
North Carolina area (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and the greater
Triangle, as well as Wake, Durham, Orange, and Chatham counties.)
Blog posted by:
Vet Mary Gardner
Vet Mary Gardner
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