Can Nelio help my cat with a heart murmur and enlarged heart?

It appears that nebivolol is being researched for many different possible uses in many lab animal species, but I could not find any information on its use in cats. From the information I could find, most vets have mixed feelings on using atenolol in cats with HCM. There does seem to be a consensus among specialists that it could help in cats with HCM that have Systolic Anterior Motion (SAM) of the mitral valve (seen on echo), but there are no studies showing a positive benefit.

Congrats on your new pet! Adoption is a wonderful thing. When Winston sees your veterinarian, discuss diagnostics to confirm and establish a baseline for his condition. Common tests may include chest x-rays to assess cardiac size and an echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart) to assess cardiac architecture and function. The echo, more than any other diagnostic, will determine if he will need medication to manage his condition. You can read more about cardiac conditions at this link: http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/Health_Information/HeartDisease.cfm

Unfortunately the dilation of the heart cannot be reversed, but the medications will help to slow its progression and improve the other side effects of enlarged heart. The vetmedin helps the heart pump faster and harder, the furosemide reduces fluid build up in the lungs and the benazepril stops maladaptive pathways being activated. You should see a difference in him within a week or two, the medication can help to improve quality of life greatly.

Hello, sorry to hear about Meef. It sounds like she may be in congestive heart failure and thats why your veterinarian gave you those medications. The aspirin and furosemide may interact with one delay the excretion of these medications from the body. This can make the side effects of the medications most likely to occur. The biggest one we worry about is damage to her kidneys. If I were to pick one medication over another, I would give the furosemide as that will get her out of congestive heart failure, however the aspirin is also necessary. There are other medications that your can talk to your veterinarian about such as clopidogrel which will have the same effect as aspirin on the platelets and will not interact with furosemide. Ideally, depending on how severe her signs may be, Meef should be hospitalize to monitor her heart condition and fluids in her lungs. Monitor her respiratory rate. If you notice her breathing to be fast or labored, or if she has open mouthed breathing, you should bring Meef to the emergency clinic immediately. Hope this helps and best of luck.

The heart condition is likely a sequel to the hyperthyroidism. Hyperthyroidism speeds up the heart rate, and that increases the thickness of the heart muscle which will enlarge the heart. Please do not experiment with herbal medicines. Hyperthyroidism, if not controlled will cause the heart condition to worsen, so it is absolutely necessary to use medications that will work such as thyreostatic medication (the thyroid medications your veterinarian prescribed). The Furosemide will help your cat get rid of the fluid in her lungs. Please listen to your veterinarian. Your kitty can have a good quality of life with the correct medications. This is one case where herbals will not help.

Poor guy. The coughing is mainly due to fluid bulid up in the lungs. If the coughing has not improved then ask you vet if adjustments can be made to his current medications, in particulra the Libeo (Furosemide), which is designed to pull fluid off the lungs, reducing the cough. He is on all the medications currently recommended for heart failure dogs, so the best thing to do is increase his medications and perhaps get him on a cardiac prescription diet (i.e. Hill's Science Diet H/D). Also understand that heart medication is not curing the disease, it is merely managing it to buy your pet more time. Unfortuantely the medication may reach a point where it is no longer effective when the disease has progressed too far. I do hope that we have not reached that point yet, and perhaps can still make adjustments in Kenzo's medications to help manage his heart disease for a while longer. Here is more information on heart disease --> https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=8501760 Best of luck moving forward with Kenzo and managing his heart disease. Take care.

There is nothing you can really do that is natural at home. The medication provided by your veterinarian is the best to help Moo live the best life he can with all of his issues. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.