The 4 stages of heart disease

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In veterinary cardiology, heart disease can be categorized into 4 stages:

Stage A: An animal is at risk for heart disease without showing any symptoms, usually because their breed has a predisposition to the condition. In an interview with dvm360, Christopher G. Byers, DVM, DACVECC, DACVIM (SAIM), CVJ, gives the example of a Maine Coon cat.

Stage B: This stage is subcategorized into B1 and B2, with B1 patients having heart conditions that aren't severe enough to warrant treatment, and B2 patients having conditions and structural changes, but no outward clinical signs.

Stage C: A patient with a heart condition and structural changes that is displaying outward clinical signs.

Stage D: This stage involves a patient with severe symptoms of heart disease that no longer responding to treatment.

Below is a partial transcript

Christopher G. Byers, DVM, DACVECC, DACVIM (SAIM), CVJ: So, currently we have stages of heart disease, not really heart failure. So, we use stage A, which means, just by breathing, just by being born, for example: a Maine Coon cat is at risk for heart disease. [It] doesn't have any symptoms or structural abnormalities, but just by being alive, they have a risk. Then we have stage B, which gets subcategorized into B1, and B2. So, a cat or a dog with a heart murmur, for example, that's not severe enough to warrant therapy or treatment, that kiddo is staged as B1. But, a B2 cat or dog with a murmur and structural changes, but really no outward clinical signs, we'll call them a B2.