Readers Respond: Tell us about your pet's heart disease

Heart disease is common in dogs and cats. The signs can be difficult to detect at first, but coughing, exercise intolerance, and difficulty breathing are common signs of heart (and lung) problems. Some heart diseases, such as heartworm, are preventable and treatable. Some conditions (e.g.) murmurs may be a congenital problem.

What signs did you first notice, what was the diagnosis, and how is treatment going for your pet?

Fluttering Not Murmer of the Heart...

My 7 months old Finnish Spitz passed away abt 3 weeks ago from tick fever and certainly not due to a problem of the heart. I write here because, 4 days before she passed away, after we had returned from a rather active evening in the community park, I could clearly hear fluttering sound (like the flutter of a flag) while breathing. Since this had never happened before, we initially thought, probably she was choking on something, but since she did not look distressed and the noise subsided soon afterwards, we ignored the episode. However 4 days later to every disbelief, she passed away due to tick fever. I'm not sure if the fever was due to some other reason. This is something I desire to know. probably a vet here can help me. More info: Her Temp was 103.5 deg F, She become choosy about her food... and a day before she left us, she even ignored her favorite gourmets. she was administered Terramycin, B Complex and Analgin

—Guest Sunaabh

Emmit and feline HCM

Emmit, a short haired domestic tiger was diagnosed with congestive heart failure at age 5 after he blew a clot in August 2010. The prognosis was not good, typically a cat leaves a week after blowing clots. Emmit was on daily medication and lived for 8 months. We had to put him asleep as he blew a severe clot and was in terrible pain. Miss him, terribly - but glad we had 8 months to enjoy him. I now have to take his sister in for a heart murmur. The cardio tests are very expensive, but it's worth it as Coco can live many years if I get her on the right meds. Prognosis is positive if you get the proper care.

—Guest Catherine

Dcm heart disease{German shepards}

April 14 2012 our loving dog Charlie developed dcm I've read lots of stories of other pets with same condition but none on German shepards . Was wondering if it's rare in this breed. & is there any natural meds that prolong his life ?.

—Guest Pennen brelin

Cat @14 Months: HCM and Thromboembolism

When my male cat Plato was limp, unconscious, at my side one afternoon, at 14 months, I rushed him to the vet. By the time she saw him, he had regained consciousness, but could not use his back legs. X-ray confirmed HCM. Within 1 hr, use of his hind end returned fully. The 4 vets I consulted with were shocked at the youth at which this event and diagnosis took place, and 3 of them predicted he likely wouldn't live to 3. Plato will be 5 in 2 weeks, and is healthy. He is on Enalapril, Metacam, and two herbal tinctures: Hawthorne blend and "invigorate the collaterals" (available by prescription only). I monitor his weight, activity, lethargy, food intake, relative temperature of his paw pads, breathing/panting, and overall demeanor. There have been no events since the one 3 years ago. He remains very fit and healthy, and plays with his "brother" frequently, regulating his activity on his own. I never forget about his condition, and enjoy every minute I have with this beautiful cat.

—Guest Leah

Ozzie

My cat passed away on March 1st. I had seen him at midnight and he was fine; at 5am he jumped onto my bed and collapsed. He was having a hard time breathing and clear fluid was pouring out of his mouth. I rushed him to the 24hr vet. When they wouldn't answer, I had to take him to one 20 min away. He died 4 min before I got there. I was devastated and wondered What if? He had never shown any symptoms of difficultly breathing before. My vet said that once they start throwing clots, his body would become a ticking time bomb and I'd just be waiting for him to die. From what I've read on line, there really was nothing I could have done to save him. Sometimes it just happens suddenly. He was a year and a half cancer survivor, so he was at the vet every 2-3 months and heart disease was never found. He was six years old. My vet said it shows a lot how he felt that he came to me when he was dying because cats usually go off in isolation to die. I miss my baby.

—Guest Julie

Mademoiselle

A came home after work on February 28 to find my beautifull 10 year old cat named Mademoiselle making noises in the office innially I thought she was playing when I got close to her she tried to move and only then did i realized that she was not able to move her back legs and she was gasping for breath my first thought was that maybe she was chocking and I picked her up and then i saw that it was very serious My vet is only 5 minutes away and the drive there seemed like an hour she was gasping and clowing trying to breath. The instand we got in the vets door the staff took over and I was told she was dying and suffering and the best thing to do let them put her down.I stayed with my baby for a long time. She died of heart failure and a blood clot which I told is very common in cats. She wa never sick before I am having a very hard time especially because she was never sick and never had any sumptoms before.

—Guest Christina

Tigg feline hcm/aortic embolisim

Sadly yesterday I had to have Tigg,my 5 1/2yr old put to sleep due to complications. He had developed another clot and had lost the feeling again in the worse leg, which had also had another complication of tissue dying, so the dead tissue had to be removed via wet to dry dressings. Amputation was going to be an option until he developed the additional clot so the kindest thing it seemed was to say goodbye, it was so hard though -because he didnt really look ill if you ignored the lack of use of his rear leg. Well meet again @ Rainbow Bridge.

—Guest Dee Lyons

ENGLARGED HEART

Our 13 yr old Pembrokeshire Corgi Bitch was eventually dianosed with an Enlarged Heart 6 months ago. She is on Vetmedin nd Lasix and going O KAY, she dictates the lengths of her walks, and alongwith her sister also 13 and newcomer aged 2 leads a good life, she has adpated to her limitations. I make sure her medication is always on time, she often has it smuggled in a little bit of sausage, She is the first to greet me at the door and in the mornings, and at that age I cannot expect a great deal more anyway. I wach her weight too as the reduction in activity can lead to Corgis becoming rather portly and I also keep a eye on her breathing. Before she was diagnosed her only sympton was reluctance to exercise, but so far so good.

—Guest cerys

Feline HCM

Our beloved Max was 14 when he died last week after developing a straddle thrombus and losing control in both rear legs. He was diagnosed over 7 years ago after our vet noticed a heart murmur, and the echocardiagram confirmed her suspicion. We were faithful with his medications and he lived a full life until his last day, when his paralysis developed. Although I would have nursed him back to health, the clots traveled to his brain and he began to have seizures. Euthanasia was the only option. We are grateful that our vet caught this early and we were able to treat the disease. We were not so lucky with our cat Mia, who died after a sudden onset of the same disease two years ago. Mia was 14 at the time, and we had no advance warning of her illness before she developed difficulty breathing due to pleural fluid. Extraordinary, emergency efforts were tried but poor Mia was too ill at 14 to survive. This disease is heart breaking and all too common.

—Guest F.M.

hcm in cat/aortic thromboembolism

16/01/2012 Tigg my white & ginger 5 1/2 yr old cat has just been diagnosed as having hcm after i discovered him collapsed at our front door(i thought it was an rta but it was aortic embolism) yesterday am. I rushed him to our vets then onto a specialist my vet referred him to. Hes currently on meds but the vets says its early days he is stable,his breathing is improving and he has regained the use of one of his hind legs- I will do whatever the vet recomends is best for him. He was diagnosed with a heart murmur 2-3 yrs ago, but seemed healthy otherwise. Had lost some weight autumn last year and was vomiting weekly which was attributed to hair balls- but I have read these could have been early symptoms of heart disease. Just wish I had known that sooner and maybe medication would have prevented the aortic embolisim and his life might not be hanging in the balance now....hes such a lovely cat...

—Guest dee lyons

cat with heart murmur

My 6 + yrs. old cat Virgil was diagnosed with a heart murmur a couple years ago. I Finally was able to afford the echocardiogram and he was put on atenolol this summer. Since starting the med. he has lost over 3 pounds; and one can feel the bones along his spine. He eats very little. I spent $200 at the vet's for labs etc. The vet told me to double the dosage and to give him an antidepressent to increase appetite. I can't understand why the dosage should be increased if it's the medication that is making him sicker. I am sick with worry about what to do. I am going to try Hawthorne, a natural remedy and hope this will help. I am looking for answers that my vet doesn't seem to have. Also my 10+ year old Finnish Spitz died of heart failure in 2000. There was no warning or previous problems noted by the vet. The suddeness left me heart broken. She died at the vet's in the middle of the night without me there to hold her.

—Guest CK

Lost a 3 year old cat a few days ago

Yuna always seemed healthy and high-energy and her vet visits always seemed to go just fine. Saturday we noticed she was breathing heavy and had lost control of her bowels when we picked her up. She felt limp and cold. We brought her to the ER and found out her lungs were surrounded by fluid. Had to wait until Monday to go to my regular vet and found out it was Dilated Cardiomyopathy. The vet said that 10 days to live was the average diagnosis, but by the time she phoned Yuna had passed away in the cage. She said she went peacefully. He was not quite 3 years old. It's devastating on a level I have a hard time describing. I realize how pricey it is to take your cats to the vet regularly, but if you can, do. I wonder if there was anything more I could have done to save her life.

—Guest Colette

My Cat died HCM/Blood Clot

My 10 year old cat, Leo, was diagnosed with heart disease. He recently had to be euthanized after throwing a blood clot in is right front leg. We got to the emergency Vets, he had no blood pressure and his foot was ice cold. The Vet said she could give him a blood thinner, but there was little chance it would work and she had seen the cats have more blood clots. Because of his heart being in congestive heart failure, we decided euthanasia was the best option. I did not want to do this, but Leo didn't have any more luck left. His leg would have had to been amputated if the blood thinner (Heptrin) didn't work, and he already had a heart that wasn't working. He had tried his best to stay with us. He was very brave. But, I wanted to point out that lots of cats throw blood clots, and not all of them are in the back legs. Leo had been on plavix, but because he couldn't eat or function on the drug, we had to give him aspirin. He lived approximately 6 1/2 months after being diagnosed.

—Guest Karen B.

17 year old cat gets Fortekor

My cat is 17 years old and last month...she was panting and breathing heavily..i thought she was coughing up a hair ball...but i could see that she was in trouble...so i took her to emergency vet.. anyway turns out she has congestive heart failure..they gave her diuretics to remove fluid from the lung which is common in congestive heart failure and sent her home after she revoered normal breathing and then prescribed fortekor 2.5 mg once a day, along with furosemide (diuretic) to prevent fluid in the lungs and plavix to prevent blood clot...so far she's doing great..heart failure doesnt have to be a death sentence for your cat or dog...it can be controlled and give them longer life.. sentence...properly controlled medication such as fortekor can greatly extend the life of your pet

—Guest James

TVD

Hachi was being raised as a leader dog for the blind:). At one of his check ups they discovered a murmur. At 7 months old we were told after a full cardiac work up he has a severe case of congenital Tricuspid Valve Dysplasia grade 5! He seems fine:). He has become a "career changed" leader dog/ dropped from leader dog program and we were given the choice of adopting him. My 14 y/o daughter has been in charge of him and decided she wanted him to ensure that his last days are happy! This is her second leader dog she has raised. Just days prior we decided to buy her, her own lab that she could keep because she has been so successful raising star leader dogs despite the 60% graduation failure rate. Consequently my daughter is raising a little 7 week old lab and ensuring a 7 month old lab stays healthy and happy as long as possible:). Did I mention my son her oldest brother was also born with congenital heart disease and has open heart surgery and will require it his entire life:(. Onurse

—Guest Hachi