Humans aren’t the only species who need to watch their cholesterol. As Dr. Donna Spector writes in the following article, the condition is oftentimes overlooked in pets, due to the rarity of cats and dogs to develop heart disease.

But as she notes, high cholesterol, and high triglycerides — most common in Schnauzers — can lead to sometimes fatal ailments.

Hyperlipidemia is a condition in which the amount of fats (also called lipids) in the blood are elevated. The most important lipids are cholesterol and triglyceride. Hyperlipidemia primarily causes heart-related disease in humans and is responsible for 500,000+ American deaths each year. About 52 million adults change their diet and 13 million adults must use lipid-lowering medication to lower their cholesterol and triglyceride levels into safe ranges.

Despite the attention hyperlipidemia has received in humans, it has largely been overlooked in pets. This is because it is rare for dogs and cats to develop heart disease related to hyperlipidemia like people. However, hyperlipidemia has been associated with serious and sometimes fatal ailments such as pet obesity, pancreatitis, vision and neurologic problems. Although both dogs and cats can develop hyperlipidemia, it is much more common in dogs, particularly in the Schnauzer breed. The remainder of this article will focus on diagnosing and treating this common dog health problem.

Click here for the full article.

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