How long can my senior dog live with fluid in lungs & heart murmur?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I am so sorry to hear about Bizou! Unfortunately, if he is in congestive heart failure, the only treatment is the lasix pill (furosemide). Depending on how severe his condition is, he may not survive without hospitalization with oxygen and injectible lasix. Your vet may have a strong suspicion of this if Bizou has a heart murmur and many crackles in the lungs (we can hear with the stethoscope). However, even that is not enough to definitively diagnose it. I have seen a couple dogs I was sure were in heart failure and when I took the x-rays, it turned out to be pneumonia or cancer. If you can at all afford it, go for the xrays so you at least know what you are dealing with - if it's cancer instead of heart failure, that may change your approach. If it is heart failure, it will give a clue as to how serious. If you can't afford the x-rays, treat for whatever the vet thinks is most likely. If heart failure is it, the most commonly prescribed medications are furosemide, enalapril, and pimobendan (though there are others). Finally, if he is still struggling for air, his tongue/gums are any color other than bright pink, or the vet thinks it is serious enough to require oxygen, and you cannot pay for treatment, I would strongly consider euthanasia. Dying by gasping and struggling for air while drowning in your own fluids is a horrible way to go - I've seen it several times. Please feel free to reach out to me via consultation if you'd like to to have a more detailed conversation with you. Best wishes to you and Bizou.

Yes Lasix can help dogs with CHF but the dosage can only be determined by the prescribing vet. Legally we cannot prescribe it, and its usage has to be monitored by a vet as it can have some serious side effects like dehydration, weakness, collapse, balance problems, electrolyte imbalance, lack of urine production, and a racing heart beat. There are other medications that can be used to control the symptoms of CHF, they won't cure it, but they will make her more comfortable. I'd talk to Lucy's vet about Lasix and other medication. I hope this helps.

Unfortunately the dilation of the heart cannot be reversed, but the medications will help to slow its progression and improve the other side effects of enlarged heart. The vetmedin helps the heart pump faster and harder, the furosemide reduces fluid build up in the lungs and the benazepril stops maladaptive pathways being activated. You should see a difference in him within a week or two, the medication can help to improve quality of life greatly.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Heart disease affecting the lungs occurs when the heart is unable to pump the blood forward well, and the pressure back-up in the lungs causes fluid to seep out into the lungs, and the lungs fill up like a sponge filling up with water. The medications for heart disease include a diuretic which will essentially 'ring out' that sponge. It pulls fluid out of the body, and therefore out of the lungs. For this reason Rocky will drink and pee a lot on the medication. The other medications work by making the heart pump better (Pimobendan is the usual drug of choice for this) as well as decreasing the blood pressure so the heart can pump in a forward direction more easily (ACE inhibitor usually). Depending on the level of heart disease your vet will choose 1, or all 3, of these medications. Some dogs respond very well to medications and can live for a while, with changes in the medications every once and a while. Some dogs unfortunately don't respond well to the medication. It all depends on how severe the heart is at this point, as well as how well Rocky will respond to medications. You can get an echo (ultrasound of the heart) to determine exactly how bad the heart is at this point, or just see how he responds to the medications. His best chance is to be diligent about his medications, don't let them run out as he will need to be on them for the rest of his life, and do your follow up appointments as your vet is recommending. Best of luck with Rocky.

There are many medications which can be used to support a failing heart and should be used alongside diuretics in order to help support the function of the heart, reduce fluid build up in the lungs and abdomen and control blood pressure if required. Unfortunately, no cure is available and medications should be adjusted as Zoe's condition changes; many dogs can live for months-years with a heart condition depending on the severity of other health complications which can also occur as they age. Without a full history of all her complaints and recent tests it is impossible to assess her medium-long term prognosis

I am so sorry to hear about what is happening with your pet. If your dogs diagnosis is congestive heart failure, then the usual pills that the vet will place a dog on our furosemide and enalapril. And if the correct diagnosis is congestive heart failure, then these pills do a very good job of controlling the clinical symptoms associated with this disease. However, there are many different heart diseases that a schnauzer can get. Some of these are mitral valve disease, heartworm disease, etc. The only true way to diagnose the disease is to have a set of x-rays as well as an echocardiogram which is a heart ultrasound. The good news and what you have going in your favor is that the most common disease in a miniature Snells or is congestive heart failure. And if this is the case, the pills that I assume you are on will most likely be able to keep her around for quite a while. I cannot give a prognosis as to how long, but your odds are pretty good that we are going to survive for a period of months to years. Thank you for reaching out to us. I hope I have helped.

These are all great questions. I’m sorry you are having to navigate through this with Memi but he is lucky to have an owner as dedicated as you are! An increased respiratory rate and/or effort can be indicative of fluid build up in the lungs from heart failure. Sometimes this fluid can be heard on exam with a stethoscope and sometimes it can only be seen on X-rays. In my experience, the severity of the fluid build up correlates with the physical exam findings. Occasionally I may see fluid in an X-ray that I cannot hear on exam so I always recommend doing X-rays if I am suspicious of heart failure. The rate at which fluid builds up in th lungs can vary from dog to dog and case to case. There is no way to anticipate how quickly fluid will accumulate in Memi until it begins to happen. A diuretic like lasix can very effectively remove this fluid but, like with all drugs, has to be used with caution and the patient has to be monitored closely while on it. If Memi is still having difficulty breathing I would recommend requesting a recheck appointment with either your regular veterinarian or your cardiologist. I hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any other questions.