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

Molly needs to be seen by the veterinarian quickly. It is possible she is progressing into heart failure. Medication can often help this condition be managed but it needs proper diagnosis. Without treatment, this may progress quickly and prove fatal. Have her examined today. Best of luck.

There is no way of knowing how long this may have been developing but it is quite likely the condition developed in line with the worsening cough and breathless signs. Tracheal disease is common in this breed also and it is not unusual for both conditions to develop in the same dog, weakness and coughing at rest is generally considered indicative of a worsening heart condition which requires ongoing medical management to reduce symptoms and delay progression

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Sorry Mogli is having this issue. Heart murmurs can progress to heart failure and some of the signs of that are coughing, breathing issues and exercise intolerance. The other thing is that he may have a collapsing trachea. I think your best option is to take him to your vet for an exam. They may want to take some x-rays to check the size of his heart, the quality of the lungs and the size of the trachea. That will help you get to the bottom of this. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

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.

Hello, and thanks for your question about Jasmine. You are describing a dog in respiratory distress - if Jasmine has a history of a heart murmur and is now showing changes in her breathing, she needs to be seen by a vet immediately, as these could be symptoms of congestive heart failure. All the best to you!

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

In a dog Miller's age, this cough and heavy breathing could be due to something serious like heart disease. Unfortunately, heart disease is common in old dogs, and while it cannot be cured, its symptoms can be managed with medication. I think it's really important that he sees a vet as soon as possible, so I would recommend taking him into see his vet this weekend. I hope this helps.