My dog has a heart murmur. What are the heart risks during surgery?

In a young puppy, birth defects are always a strong suspicion and a specialist ultrasound by a cardiologist really is the best option. This will help to determine the actual site and type of heart problem and is the only way to diagnose what is going on. A definitive diagnosis will guide the most appropriate management with regards to surgery or medication as well as providing information on long term prognosis and likely consequences as he gets older. Most heart murmurs do not require medical treatment nor do they exclude the possibility of general anesthesia although careful planning and monitoring is recommended throughout any procedures

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.

It would be a good idea to have an echo done before putting him under anesthesia for a dental cleaning. Having a heart murmur puts him at a greater risk and your vet just wants to make sure it is safe. The echo can determine if he has heart disease and determine how risky it would be to do the dental cleaning.

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. Just because he has a heart murmur does not mean he cannot go under anesthesia. There are also other methods such as using a local anesthetic to numb the area and removing it while he is awake if the heart is that much of a concern. Special precautions are taken wi dogs that have a heart murmur and need anesthesia. I have placed many dogs with heart murmurs under anesthesia and have never had any complications. I've even done my fair share of patients in congestive heart failure under anesthesia and they have done well. I would discuss with you vet the other options to remove this besides anesthesia if you are uncomfortable putting him under. You can also discuss freezing the cyst with your vet. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Poor Osc has some awful health troubles at the moment! I can understand your reservation about doing surgery when he has heart problems, but as a vet, I would not recommend doing sugery if I thought the risks were too high. I don't believe your vet would recommend surgery if they didn't think it would be safe to do on him. While any surgery and anesthesia has its complications, which does increase with specific health problems, that doesn't mean it can be done safely. During surgery, the animal is monitored very closely, and the anesthetic drug protocol is tailored for the animal and it's current health problems. Ultimately, it is up to you as to whether or not you want Osc to have surgery, but again I don't think your vet would have suggested it if they felt it would be unsafe. I recommend speaking to your vet about your concerns, and how they will handle things during the surgery to keep him as safe as possible. Best of luck, I hope this helps!

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.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry to hear that Tracker has a heart murmur. Dogs can have heart murmurs for a number of reasons (physiologic murmurs, murmurs due to anemia or low red blood cell count), but the most common cause is due to a structural issue with the heart. This is most often associated with the heart valves. A murmur occurs because the valves aren't functioning properly, causing the blood flow to be more turbulent and produce an audible sound (when ausculted with a stethoscope). An ultrasound of the heart (called an echocardiogram) allows a veterinarian to look at the structure of the heart and determine the degree of dysfunction in any of the valves. Some dogs do not require medication if the structural issues are mild, but if they are severe, your veterinarian may recommend certain medications to help Tracker's heart function the best it can and therefore keep him alive and well as long as possible. I hope this is helpful!