Will my senior dog's heart murmur shorten his life expectancy?

A murmur is the sound of abnormal blood flow through the heart. It is not an indication of function. The next step would be to have an echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart) performed on Molly. This would assess cardiac architecture as well as function. An echo can be done by your veterinarian and then submitted to a veterinary cardiologist for review or you can schedule it directly with a specialist. Afterwards, medications would be dispensed if indicated. Life expectancy would be determined by the severity of her condition. This could be discussed with the veterinarian after results of the echo are returned.

Hello there! I am sorry to hear about Toby's diagnosis. This is a common condition in a lot of dogs, especially smaller breeds. Without knowing all of the specifics of the testing done on Toby it sounds like you are on the right track since his lungs are clear. Some dogs may need additional medications though. If it hasn't been done already you could request an Echocardiogram ( an ultrasound of his heart) to ensure nothing else is needed. With all that being said, lots of dogs will still cough even if their heart disease is being managed perfectly and this is due to the actual enlargement of the heart (we can't fix that). The enlarged heart will often press up on the bronchus (part of the airways) and this will cause coughing too. If Toby seems to cough a lot and if it interferes with his resting/sleeping a cough suppressant could also be prescribed. It is so hard to predict how long a pet can live with a heart condition as there are so many factors that determine this. I will say that grade 3-4 is middle of the road in severity. So he may be able to live for many years as long as his symptoms are well controlled on his meds. Monitor his cough and if it seems to be getting worse then make sure to see your vet. Another thing you can monitor at home is sleeping respiratory rate (count how many times he breathes in a minute while sleeping). It should be less than 25-30. It's very helpful to check his regularly and keep a log. If Toby's rate is typically 20 and it is slowly creeping up over a few days then this could be a sign of relapse of the fluid in his lungs and would be a sign to get him in to his vet ASAP before it causes his distress. I hope you find this information helpful. I wish you and Toby all the best!

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!

Hello. I would need to know a little more information about Walter's heart first, such as with an x-ray & ECG, but if he is not coughing, there are no crackles or wheezing in his chest, he seems to have good energy, & appetite is normal, then no, I would not necessarily put him on any medication. But I would recommend rechecking chest radiographs in 6-12 months. I would also recommend doing a NT-proBNT test. If the results are high, then Walter may be at risk for actually developing congestive heart failure, & treatment with pimobenden is indicated. A low to normal NT-proBNP, I would not start any medications yet. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

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!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding your potential new puppy. Young puppies can occasionally have what is known as an innocent murmur. This is a heart murmur they will outgrow usually by 6 months of age and is not associated with any ongoing disease. Other murmurs are associated with congenital heart disease and go on to cause the puppy significant disease. I recommend having the puppy evaluated by a board certified veterinary cardiologist. A procedure known as an echocardiogram will likely be needed to assess for any structural heart disease. This will give you the longterm prognosis for the puppy. I hope this information helps!

Bless Johnny and his little heart ! He looks very sweet. I would recommend not to stress about his teeth at present, as they make him unnecessarily upset. I would speak openly to your vet and explain that you can’t afford any further tests unless really necessary, but if possible at all that you want to give him a chance to get better. There are medications that can help him get better, but you need to find out about the cost of these as well as it is an ongoing cost. If your vet is happy to try him on the medications without any further tests, you could decide to try for 2-3 months and see if you think he is improving. I have had lots of surprises and owner that reported their dog being as lively as they were as a puppy. How much time does Johnny have will depend on the severity of the heart condition and how well he responds on the medications. Hope this helps. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.