Should I treat my senior dog's heart murmur if he has no symptoms?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! No, these are not typically performed in animals. Heart murmurs do not always require therapy but when they do, these are most of the time treated with medications. I highly recommend you consider having Murphy evaluated by a veterinary cardiologist to determine if treatment is needed and what would be best for it. Good luck!

Hi there and thank you for using PetCoach to address your concern. Heart murmurs do not always progress to heart failure and do not necessarily mean that life expectancy is shortened. There was a trial recently done in multiple countries called the Epic Trial ( www.epictrial.com ). If x-rays have not been done for Toby (of his heart), I would recommend doing so to help establish where he is at in regards to the size of his heart. My dog, that lived until 20 years of age, had a heart murmur from the time he turned 9 years old. For 11 years he had a heart murmur that became louder and louder. He never went into heart failure and he lived a very long and happy life. Just because a dog has a heart murmur does not mean he / she will have a shortened life or go into heart failure. I hope this helps ease your mind. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

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!

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!

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.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. If Miko's blood was not tested yesterday, I would certainly recommend having this done to see if there are any changes that are concerning on the blood work. If this is infectious, keep in mind that it may take 3-5 days for the antibiotic to start working and showing improvement. If Miko is worsening, I would suggest taking him back in to your veterinarian for a recheck exam so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

In a senior dog, a heart murmur is certainly possible. I'm not sure what tests have been done on Twinkie by your vet, but x-rays would be a good next step. This will visualize the heart, and let the vet know if it's enlarged or not. The vet may also want to do an echocardiogram, which is an ultrasound on the heart that shows the vet the flow through the chambers and valves of the heart. This also helps diagnose a heart murmur and the seriousness of it. Heart disease cannot be cured, but the symptoms can be treated. I'd discuss with your vet on Monday possibly doing these tests. I hope this helps!