My dog has an enlarged heart, breathing issues, and fluid. What to do?

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I'm so sorry to hear about Sadie. This sounds very serious. Anytime there is fluid in a body cavity, the situation is serious. I would need to know more to give a better answer but in a German Shepherd dog of this age, one thing is likely and that is a tumor of the spleen. These are called hemangioma or hemangiosarcoma or it could even be a hematoma or benign growth on the spleen that is bleeding. These are usually a surgical emergency especially if they are bleeding into the abdomen. Depending on what type of Other reasons for fluid to accumulate in the belly would be heart disease, liver disease, other tumors or masses in the abdomen, kidney problems. A tap of the abdomen (abdominocentesis) would reveal what the fluid is and maybe how to proceed. I would advise taking Sadie back to your vet or taking her somewhere else for a second opinion if you want to try to do something with her. And I would advise this as soon as you can get her there. Not sure if surgery is an option and that would depend on her condition and what you do comfortably afford for her. I'm so sorry again and I really hope that she gets better very soon.

Poor Rocky! It sounds like he is in both right and left sided heart failure. With right-sided heart failure fluid builds up in the abdomen. In some cases we could actually remove this fluid through inserting a needle in the abdomen under the guidance of an ultrasound. Your veterinarian may be able to do this for you and I would discuss this with them. While we know that the fluid will build back up it often provides comfort/relief to the animal. I recommend calling your veterinarian to discuss what can be done to make sure Rocky is comfortable as the fluid is not getting resorbed on its own.

You do need more testing to find out what is going on. It can be fluid build up but you need blood work and an ultrasound to see if the fluid is leaking from the intestines or liver congestion secondary from heart disease. sometimes a diet change can help or the fluid may need to be drained to have it evaluated for cells. Without a diagnosis and more testing it is hard to help you further

Unfortunately, the x-rays are not showing up as well here as the originals would, so I'll comment on what I see, but I could easily be missing something. The heart does not appear enlarged, but their are some distended arteries in the x-ray that make me suspicious of heart disease and more specifically heartworm. The abdomen is generally distended and the liver appears somewhat enlarged. This can happen with the heart disease I mentioned or some other condition affecting the liver. I do not see an obvious pyometra on the x-rays or ultrasound (sonogram). I wish I could help you with the other questions, but it's impossible without me knowing the cat's full history, or having the opportunity to examine the cat myself. One thing we can offer on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach is a consultation. This is a service that you would have to pay for, but it would allow you to text back-and-forth with one of our experts and send as many pictures as you want. With these consultations, we can help to identify the problems by gaining all the necessary information. Otherwise, you may seek a second opinion from another veterinarian in your area. I hope this is somewhat helpful and everything turns out OK Maicah.

I certainly agree with your veterinarian that the symptoms you are mentioning do sound consistent with heart failure. If your veterinarian has not yet taken an x-ray of her chest, that would be the next thing I would recommend doing. It will confirm if there is fluid in her lungs. There are a number of medications that can be used for heart failure. A diuretic is only one of them and diuretic doses do have to be adjusted to each patient. I am attaching a handout below with more information on heart failure and medications for you. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1968 Another option would be to have a consultation with a cardiologist who can do an ultrasound of Roxie's heart (an echocardiogram) and will be able to help decide on the best medications for her based on that information. You can find a cardiologist near you here. http://find.vetspecialists.com Good luck! I hope that was helfpul. Thanks for using PetCoach.

I don’t think the heart looks terribly enlarged, maybe on the big side of normal. Ask the vet who took the rads if they are able to submit them to a radiologist for review. (A radiologist is a vet who spent at least 3 additional years to do a residency to specialize and study only imaging. Their expertise is really valuable in cases that are not clear cut and obvious.) If his lab work is all normal, and a radiologist is concerned about the appearance of the heart, then it’s logical to seek out an echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart) by a veterinary cardiologist. If a radiologist does NOT think the heart looks questionable, and Boo’s lab work is all normal, it might be worth considering an abdominal ultrasound (sonogram of the belly) to see if there are any abnormalities there (enlarged lymph nodes, abnormal spleen, any abnormality in GI or urinary tract, etc). I hope that’s helpful, sorry there is no easy clear cut answer. Interpreting X-rays is like looking at 1 piece of a puzzle. History and clinical signs, physical exam, lab work, and other imaging all tie in to the bigger picture. If you would like to have a consult, I may be able to help you further with more information, and would do my best to help point you in the right direction. Thanks for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

I am very sorry to hear that you are having these concerning issues with Mambo. From the clinical signs you are describing; distended abodmen, coughing, changes to breathing patterns and lethargy I would be concerned about a potential heart condition. Heart disease can cause the heart to stop pumping blood around the body effectively. This then causes fluids to accumulate in the tissues such as the lungs and the abdomen. This could explain the bloated abdomen and the coughing. I would advise taking Mambo into the veterinarian as soon as you can. Fluid on the lungs can be a life threatening emergency. A veterinarian would be able to listen to Mambo's heart and lunch sounds during an examination and tell you if there is fluid build-up or a heart problem. I hope that is a helpful answer and that Mambo receives the medical care he needs soon. Sending my absolute best wishes to you both.