My dog faints on heart meds. Is his Vetmedin dosage too high?

Vetmedin does not increase the heart size. Since I don't know how much your dog weighs I cannot comment on the dose. If you would like to post again with her weight then we can maybe help you determine if that is an overdose. You can always talk to your vet about changing the medication - I would not change anything without speaking to them first. Is she taking any other medications for CHF like furosemide or enalapril? If so, the enalapril is most likely causing the increase in heart rate after administration. None of the medications however, will cause the hear to enlarge. The heart is enlarging due to the normal course of the disease. The medications only help to support the heart - they will not stop the progression of the disease. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Hello and thank you very much for your question. Your dog is so very lucky to have such concerned and caring parents. Vetmedin is administered at a dosage of 0.5 mg per kilogram of body weight. A kilogram is equal to 2.2 pounds. If I am reading your question correctly, you both gave 1.25 mg to your dog this morning. That is the total daily dose recommended for a dog your size. Even though the dosage should be divided into two doses given approximately 12 hours apart, it is absolutely fine in this situation that the entire daily dosage was given once. So, no, you have no reason to be concerned with what happened this morning. Your dog should be absolutely fine. Please do not give any doses for the rest of the day and tomorrow morning, go back to your regular 1/2 tablet every 12 hours dosing schedule. I hope I have given you the information you needed. Have a great day

Interesting question! The half life refers to clearance of the original drug from the blood circulation, some of this becomes bound inside cells and some gets broken down into metabolites which are also effective in their own right therefore the medication is effective for longer than the half life data would initially appear to indicate. It is important it is given on an empty stomach, one hour before food. All medications should be given as prescribed and dosing intervals should not be adjusted without consulting with the treating vet

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The dose of Vetmedin is 0.25mg/kg twice daily. So for a 10 lb dog I would prescribe the 1.25mg tablet to give every 12 hours. I would go to 1/2 of a 1.25 mg twice daily around 6-7 lbs. I hope this helps!

Syncope or fainting is common with progressive heart disease and it is possible she may also require additional medications alongside the lasix which are diuretics which reduce fluid build up on the lungs, if fainting is happening. I would recommend an emergency vet visit to assess fluid build up on the lungs and to try stabilise ger condition

Vetmedin (Pimobendan) is an inotrope, which means that its job is to make the heart pump more forcibly, so I would say that what you are seeing clinically is the medication doing its job. I would not recommend discontinuing this medication. But also, if you feel that your pet Ruby has any other adverse effects to this medication, then it will be necessary to have her seen and examined by a vet in person in order to get any recommendations as to what, if any, changes in her medication are needed in the future. Best of luck with Ruby and I hope that her condition can be stabilized well with her medication. Best wishes and take care.

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.