Feedlot heart failure: A growing concern for cattle industry

Feedlot congestive heart failure (CHF) has been recognized as a growing threat to our feedlot industry. It is important to differentiate this condition from other known causes of heart failure in cattle. Congestive heart failure is a non-infectious condition that occurs at low to moderate elevation (separating it from traditional high-altitude disease) and has observable signs such as edema (fluid) build up in the brisket area, jugular vein distension, abdominal swelling, difficulty breathing, sway back, and abducted elbows. This condition is considered 100% fatal. On necropsy we…