What causes dog seizures with a heart murmur and clear blood work?

I’m so sorry this is happening with Bandit. It could have been a true seizure, but it is also possible that it was what we call a syncopal event due to the heart not being able to supply the brain with enough oxygen. It can look almost identical to a seizure. I would really recommend he proceed to an emergency veterinarian tonight. If this is not possible, then please have him seen by his regular veterinarian tomorrow morning. They can evaluate if he needs to increase his cardiac medications or if they think it was a true seizure they will discuss testing and treatment recommendations for seizures. Good luck to you and to Bandit. I hope he improves quickly.

Hello. Kovu probably is going to need a more extensive workup than just the blood work he received at the ER. I am concerned about the heart murmur because a cardiac abnormality can cause a condition caused syncope, which might be mistaken for a seizure. If you were my client, I would highly recommend a cardiac consultation prior to placing Kovu on anti-seizure medication. Only after I was sure the episodes are not heart related would I think about starting a daily anti-seizure medication. Good luck & thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I'm very sorry to hear about the loss of your dog. It's possible that he may have had a stroke or blood clot secondary to his heart disease that traveled to his brain. Or, if he was regularly having collapsing episodes due to his heart (syncope), what you saw may have been one of these that was especially severe, as this is a common cause of sudden death in dogs with severe heart problems. If you want to try to get a more definite answer on what the cause of death may have been, you would need to have an autopsy done, called a necropsy in animals. Your veterinarian should be able to let you know where you can have this done, if it's something you want to pursue. Again, I'm very sorry for your loss.

Personally I would have done another blood test to see if things had changed in the time Tysin last saw her vet, but since your friend was watching her while you were out of town, it may be the vet didn't do it because the primary owner wasn't there to give permission. You could see if the neurologist will do blood work for her, but it may not show anything. The most common cause of seizures in dogs is idiopathic, meaning there is no known cause. That could be another reason why the vet didn't do bloodwork. I hope this helps.

Thanks for the picture! Unfortunately the way they have it printed out, it doesn't include what is normal for their lab machine, so I still can't fully interpret the results. From the lab that I use, the liver values that you have gotten would be considered normal, or very close to the normal range. Did the vet that ran the bloodwork give you any indication that they were abnormal? Seizures in a young dog could be caused by many things, including portosystemic or liver shunt (which may need ultrasound or bile acids testing to diagnose), epilepsy, hypoglycemia, kidney disease, intracranial disease, infection, among several others. I would recommend that you discuss these possibilities with your vet and see what other testing can be done to look at these other systems.

I hate to hear that your friends dog is so sick! Make sure to stay in contact with the veterinarian and follow all the recommendations. The pale gums are concerning for blood loss or not producing enough red blood cells. This condition could cause a seizure but would normally show up on bloodwork. Seizures can be caused by many conditions including toxins, brain tumors, infections in the brain, liver disease, low blood sugar or epilepsy. Bloodwork will generally also help to determine if one of these is the cause of the disease. Urinating uncontrollably is worrisome for a bladder infection, a problem with the sphincter or a neurological disease. This sounds like a complicated illness and the pup may need various diagnostics and even sometimes a repeating of diagnostics to look for progression. I hope this helps to provide a little insight and that because of the illness is quickly identified and treated. Make sure to have her examined quickly for the pale gums. Please feel free to post any additional questions.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I'm sorry to hear that Clunker has been having seizures. It is important to see exactly what is going on, to determine that he is having a true seizure, as opposed to a collapse or localized tremors for a different reason. A video would be very helpful and I would be happy to provide a consultation. If this is a true seizure, they are usually the result of abnormal brain activity. This can be due to a large number of diseases including brain cancer, infection, or epilepsy (the cause of which is not currently known in cats). With brain cancer or epilepsy, blood work can be normal, however, x-rays or a CT scan would determine if there is something else causing the seizures. It may be helpful to know that seizures themselves are not thought to be painful, and it is normal for animals to urinate/defecate while they are having a seizure. This frequency of seizures is definitely confusing and distressful for Clunker, and a veterinarian can prescribe an anti-seizure medication to keep him comfortable. It is important to have Clunker evaluated by a vet to ensure that there is nothing else that can be causing collapse or tremors, such as a hormonal issue or viral infection, and to have him treated appropriately.