Why is my senior dog coughing blood with a heart murmur and pain?

Oh no, poor Marble! It is concerning that he coughed out some blood mucous and while that can be a sign of respiratory infection, in a senior dog I would also be concerned that it could be a sign of cancer. It's best that he is seen by a vet tomorrow for a physical exam, blood tests, urinalysis, and chest x-rays. These tests will help the vet diagnose what is causing his symptoms. Once a diagnosis is reached, the vet can discuss what treatment options are available for Marble.

Poor Bailey! Coughing up blood along with bleeding from the nose are quite serious, and I would take her into the vet now. This bleeding could be a sign of ulcers, an inability to clot blood, liver failure, respiratory disease, or cancer. Unfortunately, cancer is always a possibly in an old dog, and if she did have cancer that had spread to her lungs, it could cause these signs. I would take her into a vet right away. The vet can do routine blood tests, a urinalysis, x-rays, and possibly blood clotting tests to see what is causing her to cough up blood and have nose bleeds. Once the cause is found, the vet can determine what, if any, treatment is appropriate for her.

This is a very real concern and you should have him assessed by a vet urgently. Infection, injury, heart and lung disease, parasites, clotting issues and foreign bodies could all be at play. A full physical and possibly chest xrays are recommended immediately

Hello, and thanks for using PetCoach. I'm sorry to hear that Mason isn't doing well! It's very frustrating to be without answers. Since it sounds like you've been to two different primary vets and still don't have the answers you need regarding Mason's symptoms, I recommend requesting a referral to an internal medicine specialist. This would be a vet who completed a 1 year internship followed by a 3 year specialty residency to become board certified. I did a search for internists in your zip code; here's a link to the bio for a specialist in your area: https://vcahospitals.com/great-lakes/team/leah-ferguson With the symptoms you described, the specialist will likely recommend an echocardiogram, or ultrasound of the heart and chest, to get a better idea of what's causing the cough. I hope this helps and you are able to get answers soon!

It definitely sounds like Midnight should be seen by a veterinarian sometime soon. As long as he isn't in overt respiratory distress, this doesn't have to be tonight. I would plan on getting him there early this week, however. Based on all the clinical signs you have described, I would suspect there is either some sort of primary respiratory disease such as an infection or cancerous process occurring, or a cardiac condition. Heartworm certainly can not be ruled out as a possibility either. All of the above mentioned conditions can be mostly ruled in or out via a chest x ray. Blood work to go along with this will be able to determine if Heart worm is or is not probable. I hope you are able to figure out what is happening with Midnight.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Iris definitely needs to be seen by a vet right away. The cough and bloody stool can be related or unrelated. Coughing in dogs can be caused by pneumonia. upper respiratory infections, heartworm disease, or heart conditions. Bloody diarrhea can be caused by inflammatory bowel disease, viral diseases such as parvovirus, toxin ingestion, or bacterial infections. Sometimes, severe parasitic infections can cause these signs. A vet can perform a physical exam, and will likely need some further diagnostics such as bloodwork and x-rays to determine next steps and treatment. I hope all is well with Iris!

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Coughing and bringing up clear liquid could be coughing up stuff instead of vomiting. This is important to try to differentiate. Coughing up liquid is more consistent with heart disease. The x-rays are difficult to read as the image transfer through is of poor quality and to really assess the lungs you need good quality images, however the heart does look a bit enlarged and the lungs do look a bit 'white'. I cannot assess the liver on these radiographs as you cannot see them. An enlarged heart, white lungs (fluid in the lungs), and an enlarged liver is consistent with both right and left sided heart disease. I recommend you return either to your vet, or another vet, and get a specialist ultrasound of the heart (an 'echo') to determine if heart medications are required. Your vet can also listen to the heart to see if a murmur is present in the heart, or 'crackles' are heard on the lungs. Heart disease is very serious and needs medications to manage. Without these Lily unfortunately will essentially drown in her own lungs, if heart disease is the problem. I suggest a recheck as soon as possible to get this figured out. Best of luck with Lily, I hope she feels better soon.