Keep careful watch over heart murmurs in dogs
Grand Forks Herald
Teddy has had a heart murmur for about four months, and Stephanie wants to know what she should do.
A heart murmur is an audible sound due to a leak in one or more of the valves. It's best described as a “woosh” sound, and usually requires a stethoscope to hear. There are different types of murmurs (depending on which valve they come from) and they vary in intensity.
These types of changes within the heart, and in this case with the mitral valve, can lead to congestive heart failure.
Stephanie says dog Teddy, 4, is walked and run on a daily basis and shows no signs of decreased energy. His appetite is unchanged and his attitude is fabulous.
Even though the murmur is not causing Teddy problems, it is cause for concern because we do not know if there are any changes to Teddy's heart. Even the most severe cases of acquired heart murmurs leading to congestive heart failure seldom start out with an obviously debilitated patient. The process usually is one of progression from asymptomatic to symptomatic, the early symptoms of which might include decrease in exercise tolerance, excess sleeping and a cough. It is best to catch this process early.
I recommend Teddy have his heart and heart function evaluated. This requires some noninvasive diagnostic testing that should include chest radiographs, an electrocardiogram (ECG), blood pressure testing and an echocardiogram. The echocardiogram, done with an ultrasound machine, is an especially useful tool when evaluating the heart as it allows visualization of the heart structures, including the valves in real time. With flow studies, we even can see the amount of blood that is leaking through the valve that is causing the murmur.
With results in hand, a plan can be formulated to prevent the progression of changes that can be associated with a heart murmur. The earlier the situation is characterized, the better. It is also possible the murmur may never cause problems, but it's always better to find out.
Jeff Kahler is a veterinarian in Modesto, Calif.
Teddy has had a heart murmur for about four months, and Stephanie wants to know what she should do.
A heart murmur is an audible sound due to a leak in one or more of the valves. It's best described as a “woosh” sound, and usually requires a stethoscope to hear. There are different types of murmurs (depending on which valve they come from) and they vary in intensity.
These types of changes within the heart, and in this case with the mitral valve, can lead to congestive heart failure.
Stephanie says dog Teddy, 4, is walked and run on a daily basis and shows no signs of decreased energy. His appetite is unchanged and his attitude is fabulous.
Even though the murmur is not causing Teddy problems, it is cause for concern because we do not know if there are any changes to Teddy's heart. Even the most severe cases of acquired heart murmurs leading to congestive heart failure seldom start out with an obviously debilitated patient. The process usually is one of progression from asymptomatic to symptomatic, the early symptoms of which might include decrease in exercise tolerance, excess sleeping and a cough. It is best to catch this process early.
I recommend Teddy have his heart and heart function evaluated. This requires some noninvasive diagnostic testing that should include chest radiographs, an electrocardiogram (ECG), blood pressure testing and an echocardiogram. The echocardiogram, done with an ultrasound machine, is an especially useful tool when evaluating the heart as it allows visualization of the heart structures, including the valves in real time. With flow studies, we even can see the amount of blood that is leaking through the valve that is causing the murmur.
With results in hand, a plan can be formulated to prevent the progression of changes that can be associated with a heart murmur. The earlier the situation is characterized, the better. It is also possible the murmur may never cause problems, but it's always better to find out.
Jeff Kahler is a veterinarian in Modesto, Calif.
