My dog with CHF suddenly breathing heavy. Should I increase meds?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Roxy! If Roxy is having trouble breathing she needs to see a veterinarian right away. We have to assume she is in congestive heart failure. Just increasing the medication likely will not be enough. You can give her another 1/2 of furosemide while you find an open emergency room. Oral medications are not quick enough in situations like this. She likely needs oxygen and injectable medications. I wish Roxy the best!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I am so sorry to hear about Bizou! Unfortunately, if he is in congestive heart failure, the only treatment is the lasix pill (furosemide). Depending on how severe his condition is, he may not survive without hospitalization with oxygen and injectible lasix. Your vet may have a strong suspicion of this if Bizou has a heart murmur and many crackles in the lungs (we can hear with the stethoscope). However, even that is not enough to definitively diagnose it. I have seen a couple dogs I was sure were in heart failure and when I took the x-rays, it turned out to be pneumonia or cancer. If you can at all afford it, go for the xrays so you at least know what you are dealing with - if it's cancer instead of heart failure, that may change your approach. If it is heart failure, it will give a clue as to how serious. If you can't afford the x-rays, treat for whatever the vet thinks is most likely. If heart failure is it, the most commonly prescribed medications are furosemide, enalapril, and pimobendan (though there are others). Finally, if he is still struggling for air, his tongue/gums are any color other than bright pink, or the vet thinks it is serious enough to require oxygen, and you cannot pay for treatment, I would strongly consider euthanasia. Dying by gasping and struggling for air while drowning in your own fluids is a horrible way to go - I've seen it several times. Please feel free to reach out to me via consultation if you'd like to to have a more detailed conversation with you. Best wishes to you and Bizou.

Yes, you can give another dose of the salix to try to help. If this does not show any improvement I would encourage you to find any vet that can you in as you may need injectable medication and oxygen therapy to help

I am worried that the increased heart rate may be more due to his heart failure and more fluids around his lungs or in his abdomen. I would talk to your vet about his meds. They may want to increase the dosage of all the meds to help him compensate. They may also add meds like a diuretic to help get some of the fluids off the chest. I am so sorry you are having to go through this. Right sided heart failure is usually caused by heartworms most commonly. Heartworms may not be very common in your area but it may be worth checking. If they haven't already, I would ask them to check for heartworms. I hope this helps!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Frank! If Frank is having trouble breathing it is best to have him seen sooner than later. It is fine to give an extra dose of furosemide but he may need oxygen and an IV dose of furosemide. It is best for Frank to be seen as soon as possible. I hope this helps and I wish Frank the best!

The elevated respiration and fainting may indicate that the meds are not controlling the heart failure well at this time. The movement you are seeing with the heartbeat may be related to the murmur getting more intense, or possibly due to an arrhythmia. Without evaluating the medical history and examining Heidi it's difficult to tell. I recommend having her evaluated by your vet sometime soon. Your vet should be able to help explain what's going on and may want to prescribe additional treatment. Heart failure is often a progressive disease, so it's expected that medications will change as the disease progresses. If Heidi is otherwise seeming happy, then I don't think you are being selfish by continuing treatment. I think it's worth consulting with your vet and seeing if anymore can be done to keep her from breathing hard and fainting. I hope that helps and Heidi gets better soon.

Oh no! This sounds very serious and the Lasix alone probably isn't enough to control her symptoms. If she is this sick you should definitely take Roxy back in to the vet to perhaps up her dose of Lasix (there is often a wide range that you can give pets until symptoms resolve) or give her actual heart medication. If the heart is not addressed directly (with medications), then no matter how much Lasix you give, the lungs will continue to fill with fluid due to the direct relationship that is shared between the heart and lungs. This website link discusses the use of both Lasix and heart medications (Enalapril) together in pets with signs of congestive heart failure, which is likely Roxy's condition. http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=537