My cat died from heart failure. Why did heart valve chords rupture? Was it painful?

Question

My 11 year old cat recently died from" acute heart failure". My vet mentioned the chords that open and close heart valves may have ruptured. What could cause this? Is it painful? Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 11 years and 11 months old | 13 lbs

Makenzie Kurth, DVM · Accepted Answer

I am so incredibly sorry to hear about the loss of Raven. Heart disease is particularly devastating in cats because they often give us no signs on physical exam or at home. With dogs, there is very often a murmur, episodes of collapse, coughing, etc.; this is often absent in cats. In cats, the first sign of heart disease is often a horrible clot (many times causing paralysis) or death. A ruptue of the chordae tendonae is usually caused by underlying heart disease (enlargement, valve degeneration, other). What I am saying is, there was no warning sign you missed, or anything you could have done differently. It is important for you to know that tendonae rupture is NOT painful (neither, we think are large clots that can cause acute death). So likely Raven simply passed almost instantly with little or no pain. I am so sorry again for your loss and hoped this brings a little clarity and peace.

My cat died from heart failure. Why did heart valve chords rupture? Was it painful?

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