Two Easy Ways to Start Earning Rewards!
Become a member today!
Members-only pricing and offers, personalized care notifications, Vital Care points back on every purchase and more!
Already a member? Sign in
Become a credit card member today!
Earn 2X Pals Rewards points at Petco
when you use Petco Pay!
APPLY NOW
Learn More About Petco Pay Benefits

Why is my senior dog coughing, vomiting, and has an enlarged heart?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Labrador Retriever | Female | unspayed | 11 years and 1 month old | 115 lbs

I took my 11 year old lab to the vet last night for coughing and vomiting clear liquid. The tested for pneumonia and Heartworm, both were negative. The vet seemed like he didn’t really know much about what was going on. He said her heart was enlarged and there was something going on with her lungs and maybe the liver, but refused to do any further testing. My question is, what do you think about these X-rays? Do you see anything that could be helpful in finding a diagnosis? Thanks in advance!

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Ann Dion, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on December 4th, 2018

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.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Smart Picks for Smart Questions

Related Questions

Health & Wellness

My dog is coughing and has an enlarged heart. What should I do?

Hello and thank you for using Pet Coach! Based on the radiograph you attached, the vertebral heart score (VHS) is on the larger measurement and overall the heart does have increased contact with the sternum. There does not appear to be evidence of heart failure, but I am limited with one x-ray view and no ability to adjust the contrast. I don't know what medication your veterinarian started Bono on but in this case, I would recommend starting omega 3 fish oil, Pimobendan (prescription medication that helps delay on the onset of heart failure and helps the heart pump more efficiently). I would also look into heart supplements such as Standard Process Whole Body Support and Cardiac support (if available in your country). Here is an article from my hospital on heart disease and what to look out for. Mitral valve disease is one of the most common heart conditions we see in dogs. I hope this helps and provides you with more information. If you have any concerns, I would reach out to the veterinarian who has been seeing Bono. https://www.neighborhoodvetclinic.com/degenerative-valve-disease-myxomatous-mitral-valve-disease/

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Health & Wellness

Why is my senior dog coughing with a hard nipple lump and slow heart?

I'm sorry but you should be talking to your vet about all these questions. We don't have enough information about her condition(s) to be helpful. It sounds like she needs chest x-rays done. The hard lump under the nipple is probably a mammary tumor. You need to point it out to the vet. Her kidney values look normal from those tests. One liver enzyme is elevated and it could be coming from any number of areas and not just the liver. I would not be worried about the kidneys or liver based on these test results. I would be more worried about the heart, the coughing and the mammary tumor so I suggest x-rays to look at the lungs and the trachea. I do not know what they mean about the heart is slow. You will need to ask your vet for more information.

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Health & Wellness

Why is my senior dog snoring more and vomiting daily? What's wrong?

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. My suggestion right off the bat, is to take Lilly to your veterinarian for an exam. Any persistent or worsening symptoms should be considered serious especially in an older dog. Unfortunately her symptoms do not point to one specific illness or disease process so it is really difficult to speculate as to what may be going on with her. What I can tell you is that snoring often points to a space occupying lesion (tumor, polyp or foreign body) somewhere in the upper airway. This obstruction can trigger vomiting in some instances although the vomiting may or may not be directly related to the snoring. I suggest you take Lilly to your veterinarian as soon as possible for an examination. Likely some diagnostic testing will be needed to get a diagnosis. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Health & Wellness

Why is my dog coughing, belly swollen, and won't go down stairs?

I certainly agree with your veterinarian that the symptoms you are mentioning do sound consistent with heart failure. If your veterinarian has not yet taken an x-ray of her chest, that would be the next thing I would recommend doing. It will confirm if there is fluid in her lungs. There are a number of medications that can be used for heart failure. A diuretic is only one of them and diuretic doses do have to be adjusted to each patient. I am attaching a handout below with more information on heart failure and medications for you. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1968 Another option would be to have a consultation with a cardiologist who can do an ultrasound of Roxie's heart (an echocardiogram) and will be able to help decide on the best medications for her based on that information. You can find a cardiologist near you here. http://find.vetspecialists.com Good luck! I hope that was helfpul. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Health & Wellness

My senior dog is coughing, vomiting, lethargic, and won't eat. Why?

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry to hear about Booda, she sounds very sick. Since she is vomiting, acting lethargic, not eating and having neurological signs, I would have her seen by a veterinarian as soon as possible. Especially in an older Golden, cancer is a top differential for the cause of her clinical signs. Your veterinarian will want to do a complete physical exam, along with bloodwork and/or x-rays to look for evidence of disease. Because she is coughing, I'm afraid she may have cancer in her lungs, or less likely something like pneumonia. Unfortunately, you may have to consider thinking about her quality of life. Vomiting, coughing, not eating and being unresponsive to stimuli are not indicative of a good quality of life. I hope this is helpful, and I'm very sorry to hear about Booda.

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Why is my senior dog wheezing with a murmur and enlarged heart?

Heart disease is tough. This is true for humans or animals. Pets can quickly go from ok to not ok in minutes. Most forms of heart disease are progressive which means they get worse over time. Signs of worsening heart disease can be increased heart rate and respiratory rate, collapse, exercise intolerance, or coughing. There are many medications that can help improve quality of life. Please see your vet ASAP for an exam and possibly more tests or meds. Hope Boomer feels better!

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Health & Wellness

My dog coughs, gags, and struggles to breathe. What should I do?

I think it may be time to consider a specialist. I'm not sure if the vet has done a recent x-ray of Mumchie's chest, but I would be concerned his symptoms could be due to heart disease. That can be common in older dogs. Seeing a specialist may give you some answers. Best of luck.

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Have A Vet Question?

Book an appointment with the pros – our expert vets are here to help.

Share