My Shih Tzu has CHF. How do I know if she's losing quality of life?

I'm sorry Chloe has CHF. She will have extreme difficulty breathing, blue colored gums, she may cough blood, and she will be in a lot of distress and pain. I do not recommend letting her get to this place, it would be horrible for her. One of the great things about veterinary medicine is that we have the ability to ease a dog's suffering before they reach a place of intense pain, distress, and suffering. I recommend having her put to sleep before she reaches this place, it will be better for her and you. Having to watch her go through those symptoms I described above would be very upsetting to you, and you don't want to put her or you through it. I work for a home euthanasia service, so I face the question as to when it is time to let them go frequently. I would make a list of five things Chloe loves to do. When she is no longer doing at least two of them, then it's time to let her go peacefully. It's about looking at her quality of life and preventing her from getting to a place where it's awful. You can speak with your vet for more advice as to when to let her go. You can also request a consult with me for a more in-depth discussion about it. I hope this helps, and again I'm sorry :-(

When you are unable to control Chewy’s symptoms with medication then it will probably be time to let him go. It sounds as if he is doing well for now. If he stops wanting to eat, has trouble with minimal exercise, or coughs constantly, these are signs that his disease is not well controlled. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Hello, I am sorry to hear that Rocky is having troubles. If Rocky is coughing he is not feeling good. Coughing from CHF is like feeling like you are drowning and can't catch your breath. However, you can likely increase his medications in order to help decrease the coughing and give him a better quality of life. Depending on the severity of his heart disease and the dose of medications that you are on now, he may be able to have increased doses and do well for a while, or he may be at the maximum dose and be in end stage heart disease. Chat with your vet about increasing the dose of the diuretic (Furosemide) to make him feel better.

Hello, I'm sorry to hear about Spunky. It difficult when you receive news like that. It sounds like your vet is doing everything they can to remove the fluid from her lungs and support her heart health. CHF is unfortunately a serious condition and difficult to treat. I would consider her quality of life, and let that help you decide when to let her go. Keep a calendar of her good days and bad to help you visualize what her weeks are like. Also think about what you would want to live like, and if she's enjoying her life. I hope that is helpful. I have a senior dog and these decisions are never easy.

There are many medications which can be used to support a failing heart and should be used alongside diuretics in order to help support the function of the heart, reduce fluid build up in the lungs and abdomen and control blood pressure if required. Unfortunately, no cure is available and medications should be adjusted as Zoe's condition changes; many dogs can live for months-years with a heart condition depending on the severity of other health complications which can also occur as they age. Without a full history of all her complaints and recent tests it is impossible to assess her medium-long term prognosis

These decisions are certainly not easy to make and I'm sorry that you and Pepper are going through this. While I can't examine Pepper to speak to his current state of respiratory distress or discomfort, anytime ascites and respiratory changes consistent with heart failure are present, the animal is generally uncomfortable. With heart failure, animals accumulate fluid in and around the lungs and do not appropriately perfuse oxygenated blood, causing a weakened state with difficulty breathing. In cases of heart failure, I would recommend either trying appropriate diuretics and other medications (possibly enalapril/benazapril and pimobendan, as indicated) or euthanizing. Without reducing the fluid in the chest and improving heart contractility to allow for better oxygenation, animals have a diminished quality of life. Closely monitor Pepper for more effort in his breathing, coughing, inappetance and lethargy. I'm sorry you're going through this and I hope this helps.

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.