My dog collapses. Is it epilepsy, or could it be a heart problem?

I'm so so sorry that Freddy is having these episodes. I am sure they are very scary. It is difficult to know whether he is having a fainting episode or a seizure. If you can, I would try to catch the episodes on video so that you can show your vet and maybe they can determine which one it was. Fainting can happen from heart disease, abnormal electrical activity of the heart, low blood pressure. Seizures can happen from epilepsy, brain tumor, infection around the brain or organ problems like liver disease, low blood sugar. Unfortunately it can take a lot of testing to figure out the cause so you can know how best to treat Freddy as there are very different treatments based on what the real problem is.

Poor Jackie! It could be a seizure, but it could also be that she is having syncope (fainting) episodes due to heart disease. She needs to be seen by a veterinarian soon, so that she can be examined. If the vet suspects heart disease, they may do an x -ray, and refer you to a cardiologist for an echocardiogram to determine what part of the heart is affected, and what medication is best for Jackie to help her feel better and slow down the progression of the disease.

So sorry about your dog. Besides it being caused by a seizure disorder, he could have something like laryngeal paralysis, collapsing trachea or be having a syncopal (fainting) episode from a heart problem. You could try to record one so your vet can see exactly what is happening. If the episodes continue and your vet is not able to control them, ask for a referral to a specialist for more testing. It might be a good idea to take a chest x-ray, have an ultrasound of his heart, and/or examination of his throat to look for laryngeal paralysis. Hope he gets better soon!

Yes, that could be the cause of Toby's collapse. It's called syncope, and it occurs in dogs who have an enlarged heart because of an interruption of the blood supply to the brain. Have him seen by a vet asap. Syncope is a very serious symptom of heart disease, and he likely needs medications to help with his heart problems.

I'm very sorry to hear about the loss of your dog. It's possible that he may have had a stroke or blood clot secondary to his heart disease that traveled to his brain. Or, if he was regularly having collapsing episodes due to his heart (syncope), what you saw may have been one of these that was especially severe, as this is a common cause of sudden death in dogs with severe heart problems. If you want to try to get a more definite answer on what the cause of death may have been, you would need to have an autopsy done, called a necropsy in animals. Your veterinarian should be able to let you know where you can have this done, if it's something you want to pursue. Again, I'm very sorry for your loss.

If the episodes occur in close proximity to administration of one of these products (24-48 hours) then it could be related to the medication. In these cases the product should be stopped and the pet should be transitioned to a different one. Another potential cause could be a type of seizure. You did not mention an age for Max, but seizures in dogs can be due to epilepsy (typically diagnosed at a young age but can be diagnosed later in life), metabolic cause (hypoglycemia, Addison's disease), central nervous system infections/inflammation, or an intracranial mass (typically more of a concern in older patients). If he has not had a full physical exam performed recently by his veterinarian I would recommend having it done, along with routine wellness blood work (serum chemistry, complete blood count) to rule-out organ dysfunction/metabolic cause.

Dogs, like humans, can't come out of a seizure just by talking to them, so it may not be seizures that you are seeing. Syncopal episodes (or fainting spells) can look identical to some types of seizures. I would recommend having Jackson evaluated by a vet to determine which could be the case, and to discuss treatment options.