My dog has congestive heart failure. What care helps besides meds?

It is true that Hills makes a diet that is designed to support heart health. The diet is designed to be low sodium low protein low phosphorus and high in corn which contains several different vitamins and minerals that will support the health of your dog when they are in heart failure. That being said neither I nor any of the other doctors with which I work go around recommending this food to any of our cardiac patients. This is because there is no scientific evidence to support the efficacy of this product. That is not to say that it doesn't work as there are many different anecdotal reports that it has extended people's pets lives. In terms of the water you are giving your pet if you are concerned that there is a high level of sodium in the water I would recommend having it tested. You could also give bottled water if you are concerned. The mainstay treatment for cardiac failure in dogs are diuretics and blood pressure drugs. Depending on the cause of the congestive heart failure there's another drug called pimobendan that your veterinarian may also recommend. In some cases this has been proven to significantly extend quality and longevity of dog's lives.

What a great question! The most recent research indicates that dogs with CHF that are doing well usually do not need a sodium restricted diet. The most important thing is to keep them eating well, and salt increases palatability of most foods. However, a pet that is decompensating may benefit from a sodium-restricted diet. The prescription diets for heart disease typically have around a 0.10% salt content by dry matter.

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.

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.

Thanks for asking PetCoach! When we use a holistic approach to treatment, we need to remember that it is best to think of it as a marriage of traditional western medicine (drugs) with eastern medicine (herbs, acupuncture, etc). Some of the medications we use for congestive heart failure just CANNOT be replaced-- for instance Lasix (furosemide) - this medication is essential in treatment of chf. Additional treatments in addition to frequently used drugs for CHF would include acupuncture, as well as an herb called Hawthorn. This herb is not going to interfere with Lasix (furosemide), Vetmedin (pimobendan), or enalipril. If she is on digoxin (used to treat some arrhythmias), it could potentially interfere. I recommend Standard Process/Medi-herb brand for herbals. Here is a website to find a place that sells this brand: https://www.standardprocess.com/HCP-Search Adding acupuncture and Hawthorn would be the best suggestion I have for you. Good luck with your dog!

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

With my research I was able to find a reliable source that contradicts the use of both Young at heart and Pimobendan (Vetmedin). Since your pet is already on Vetmedin, he should not be on this supplement. The other heart medication, Enalapril, can be given with this supplement however, but I am unsure if this is indicated for your pets specific heart condition or not. https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=8501760 I would however suggest getting him on a prescription dog food for pets with heart disease such as Hill's H/D or Royal Canin Cardiac. I hope that Krystal's condition stabilizes soon with her heart medications. The best we can hope for is to help her compensate for her heart defect as long as feasibly possible. Best of luck to you and take care!