My dog has a heart murmur. Is an echocardiogram really necessary?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! No, these are not typically performed in animals. Heart murmurs do not always require therapy but when they do, these are most of the time treated with medications. I highly recommend you consider having Murphy evaluated by a veterinary cardiologist to determine if treatment is needed and what would be best for it. Good luck!

A murmur is the sound of abnormal blood flow through the heart. It is not an indication of function. The next step would be to have an echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart) performed on Molly. This would assess cardiac architecture as well as function. An echo can be done by your veterinarian and then submitted to a veterinary cardiologist for review or you can schedule it directly with a specialist. Afterwards, medications would be dispensed if indicated. Life expectancy would be determined by the severity of her condition. This could be discussed with the veterinarian after results of the echo are returned.

Hi there! A murmur just means an abnormal sound was detected when the vet listened to the heart with his/her stethoscope - it can be caused by many different things. The most common heart problems in dogs that could cause a heart murmur would include valvular insufficiency (a "leaky" mitral valve, usually), aortic or pulmonic stenosis (narrowing of the opening to the aorta or pulmonary artery), or dilated cardiomyopathy, in which the heart becomes stretched out and doesn't contract strongly anymore. Most of the heart problems we see in veterinary medicine are not correctable by surgery, and open-heart surgery of the type that is done on humans is not done in veterinary patients - so unfortunately this isn't an option. To determine what is causing the murmur and see if any treatment is needed, I would recommend talking to your veterinarian about chest x-rays and an ultrasound of the heart, called an echocardiogram. These tests are needed to diagnose the specific problem that is causing the murmur, and will guide treatment decisions from there depending on what is found.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! A grade 4 heart murmur is loud for such a young dog. He should have a chest X-ray, heart worm test and an echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart) with a cardiologist to diagnosis what is causing the heart murmur. Then you can be provided a prognosis and treatment plan. These tests can be expensive. X-rays cost over $100 and the echocardiogram costs around $4-500. Medications cost depends on what his diagnosis is as does life expectancy. I would see if the rescue can get these done for you prior to adoption. Good luck!

The most common cause for an enlarged heart in a smaller breed dog is disease or deterioration of the heart valves. The best test to have done is an Echocardiogram. This is an ultrasound of the heart. It allows visualization of the valves and their function, allows measurement of the thickness of the heart muscles and would allow the doctor to see any other abnormal structures. This is best done by an ultrasound specialist or a board certified pet cardiologist in order to get the most accurate and valuable information. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi there and thank you for using PetCoach to address your concern. Heart murmurs do not always progress to heart failure and do not necessarily mean that life expectancy is shortened. There was a trial recently done in multiple countries called the Epic Trial ( www.epictrial.com ). If x-rays have not been done for Toby (of his heart), I would recommend doing so to help establish where he is at in regards to the size of his heart. My dog, that lived until 20 years of age, had a heart murmur from the time he turned 9 years old. For 11 years he had a heart murmur that became louder and louder. He never went into heart failure and he lived a very long and happy life. Just because a dog has a heart murmur does not mean he / she will have a shortened life or go into heart failure. I hope this helps ease your mind. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Ava Bleu. I recommend following up with a cardiologist. This will help you decide if she needs to be on medications. Approximately 10% of dogs with a heart murmur will progress to heart failure. However, the cardiologist will given you more specifics given her exact condition. I hope this information helps!