Dog with heart murmur coughs and retches. Is sedation safe for X-rays?

It seems that poor Bambi may have a heart condition. Not all murmurs are bad, but the cough can indicate signs of heart failure and an x-ray would tell a lot of information that would be helpful for getting the right diagnosis.

It's always difficult to speculate without fully knowing Bambi's medical history, but I'm guessing that they did not want to anesthetize Bambi for the teeth cleaning because they were afraid that she had severe heart disease. For dental cleanings they need to fully anesthetize the dog and this can be risky with heart disease. Often there is a risk versus benefit decision that needs to be made. The doctor may have decided that the risk of anesthesia was not worth the benefit of a dental cleaning.

For the x-ray, the sedation would not be as worrisome as the full anesthesia that is required for the dental. We have sedation drugs that are very safe for heart conditions and it's often less risky to sedate a heart patient for an x-ray rather than struggling with them to get them in the right position. Struggling too much can cause a heart attack in some patients with bad heat disease.

I hope that helps to answer your question. I'm sure your vet could give you more information and I'm sure they would be happy to discuss this with you the next time you speak with them.