LOOK Mitral Project

About LOOK-Mitral

Mitral valve disease (MVD) occurs when the heart’s left valve does not close properly, leading to a backflow of blood. It affects nearly all dogs over 10 years old, though most will never develop symptoms.

For dogs who do develop symptoms, quality of life can be significantly affected. In severe cases, MVD can even lead to death.

Despite being the most common cardiovascular disease in dogs, we don’t have much data about the natural history of mitral valve disease or what happens to the dogs once a veterinarian makes a diagnosis. The LOOK-Mitral database seeks to change this. Through this project, we are collecting a large amount of data from over 6,000 patients and then following them over many years.

The database allows researchers to pose questions about which metrics predict outcomes and which interventions affect prognosis. Disease registries have proven effective in other veterinary and human diseases, but LOOK-Mitral is the first registry for dogs with MVD.

This project is a partnership between the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine and CVCA: Cardiac Care for Pets, a group of cardiac specialty practices nationwide, as well as the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala, Sweden.

This research has also benefited from support from Ceva Santé Animale, a global veterinary health company.

Learn More

Publications and News Stories

• The Longitudinal Outcome Of Canine (K9) myxomatous mitral valve disease (LOOK-Mitral registry): Baseline characteristics
• The longitudinal outcome of canine (K9) myxomatous mitral valve disease (LOOK-Mitral) registry: Baseline treatment characteristics
• Veterinary college study and pioneering database tackle most common heart disease in dogs 
  
• Falling in love with the heart: Veterinary student wins Young Investigator Award