My dog with CHF is coughing, has thick phlegm & vomited. Wait or vet?

Coughing can be caused by heart failure. If this is a new symptom after starting meds, or is worsening, it would be best to let the vet treating Lola know so that they can either re-examine her or adjust meds as needed. If she is coughing a lot and is in distress, or is having trouble breathing, seeking emergency care is best.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Coughing and bringing up clear liquid could be coughing up stuff instead of vomiting. This is important to try to differentiate. Coughing up liquid is more consistent with heart disease. The x-rays are difficult to read as the image transfer through is of poor quality and to really assess the lungs you need good quality images, however the heart does look a bit enlarged and the lungs do look a bit 'white'. I cannot assess the liver on these radiographs as you cannot see them. An enlarged heart, white lungs (fluid in the lungs), and an enlarged liver is consistent with both right and left sided heart disease. I recommend you return either to your vet, or another vet, and get a specialist ultrasound of the heart (an 'echo') to determine if heart medications are required. Your vet can also listen to the heart to see if a murmur is present in the heart, or 'crackles' are heard on the lungs. Heart disease is very serious and needs medications to manage. Without these Lily unfortunately will essentially drown in her own lungs, if heart disease is the problem. I suggest a recheck as soon as possible to get this figured out. Best of luck with Lily, I hope she feels better soon.

Hi. Is your pet on medications for heart failure? If so, and still coughing, your veterinarian may need to reassess xrays and possibly increase doses of medication. Prognosis for heart failure is guarded to poor. I'm sorry she isn't feeling well

If his respiratory rate is normal, he's eating and drinking, seems to be feeling good (not acting lethargic), and recovers quickly from these coughing fits (within 2ish minutes), I don't think you need to take him to emergency. A mild degree of coughing is to be expected in these guys. Try to get a video if you can, that way when you do take him in, the vet can see the severity of what you are seeing at home. I would recommend you call your vet and see if you can increase the dose of Tussigon. Use the following guidelines for when to take him to ER: *respiratory rate at rest persistently above 40 breaths per minute *unrelenting cough or any coughing fit that causes his tongue to turn a blue or purple color *not eating, or acting increasingly tired and lethargic *any new symptoms arise (vomiting/diarrhea, change in the appearance of his belly such as appearing bloated, etc) I hope that's helpful for you! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Poor Sophie. If her coughing is extremely bad, I would not wait until the morning to take her into a vet. Please take her into an ER vet clinic; if there isn't one in your area, there will be a vet on call for emergencies. The information to reach that vet is found on a clinic's answering machine or website.

Lassie may have congestive heart failure and therefore she needs to be examined by a veterinarian. Your veterinarian will do blood tests, an xray and possibly will want to do an ultrasound. If congestive heart failure is diagnosed, Lassie will need to take medication to get rid of the fluid in her lungs, and medication to help her heart beat more efficiently. Overall her quality of life will be improved significantly. Please take Lassie in for an exam.

Daisy Mae is taking a generally effective combination of medications to manage congestive heart failure. In cases of CHF, a change in coughing is generally indicative of changes in the heart size or fluid accumulation in and around the lungs. In these cases, cough suppressants are not likely to be effective. Do not give her any over the counter cough suppressants without speaking with your vet. If you cannot take her to an ER tonight, closely monitor her breathing for signs of distress and take her to your vet in the morning.