[Prevalence of heart murmurs, aortic and pulmonic stenosis in boxers presented for pre-breeding exams in Switzerland]

Boxer are predisposed to subaortic (SAS) and pulmonic stenosis (PS). To decrease the prevalence, pre-breeding cardiologic exams were performed in the last years. In our study the results of 309 pre-breeding exams of boxers presented between 1999 and 2008 were evaluated retrospectively. The overall prevalence of heart murmurs was 26.5 %. A SAS was diagnosed in 25 (8.1 %) and a PS in 10 (3.3 %) dogs. A combination of both defects was found in 7 (2.3 %) Boxers. Animals with a heart murmur of at least grade 3/6 had a significantly higher peak aortic flow velocity (VmaxAo) than animals without or only soft heart murmurs. Over the study period both the frequency of heart murmurs and diagnosis of SAS and PS decreased.