Take Heart – What You Need To Know About Cardiovascular Disease In Pets.

It’s heart month, and just like humans, it’s important to know and understand the signs of heart disease in pets.

Heart disease in dogs can be a serious health issue. One in ten dogs has heart disease, and that increases to one in six for older dogs. Unfortunately, cats can hide their illnesses, including heart disease, and it can be much more difficult to spot. Knowledge of the common signs of heart disease can help pet guardians recognize a potential problem and address it with a veterinarian. The sooner your pet gets diagnosed and begins treatment, the better the outcome.

At Boundary Bay Veterinary Specialty Hospital (BBVSH), our board-certified veterinary cardiology specialists are trained to detect heart disease, and to help find the best treatments. “Annual wellness exams for both dogs and cats can help catch early signs of heart disease sooner so that it can be diagnosed and treated early,” said Dr. Mark Harmon, DVM, DACVIM, BBVSH cardiologist. “When co-managed with a board-certified veterinary cardiologist, these animals can live 75% longer. Our team treats cardiovascular issues including congenital diseases in young puppies and kittens, management of heart failure, and even implantation of pacemakers in dogs so that many of our patients go on to live long and active lives.”

Symptoms of Heart Disease

While there are several heart diseases that your cat or dog can contract or develop, the symptoms are all usually very similar. This is because heart disease doesn’t necessarily mean one specific type of condition but encompasses a wide range of heart-related problems that can affect your cat or dog. If your pet is experiencing any of the following symptoms, take them to your veterinarian right away.

  1. PERSISTENT COUGH

Like people, dogs and cats can cough for reasons related to allergies, asthma, or even sinus problems. But if your pet has a cough that lasts for at least one or two weeks, it could be an indication of heart disease. This is because when your pet has a heart condition, the heart isn’t pumping enough blood, which can cause fluid backup in the lungs, resulting in a cough.

  1. DIFFICULTY BREATHING

Fluid build-up in the lungs can also cause breathing difficulties in your pet. Your pet may stand around with their mouth hanging open to try and breathe, and they may even seem distressed and resistant to lying down to relax.

  1. FAINTING/COLLAPSING

Seeing your pet collapse can be alarming—and for a good reason. Heart disease can cause your animal’s legs to give out or for them to lose consciousness completely. There are many reasons why your cat or dog could be fainting or collapsing, but it’s best to get them to a vet immediately to understand the cause of the issue.

  1. ABDOMINAL SWELLING/DISTENTION

Most commonly, abdominal swelling tends to happen when your cat or dog has intestinal parasites, a stomach obstruction, or a tumor. Unfortunately, this can also sometimes be a sign of heart disease in your pet. Due to fluid build-up in their abdomen from the heart condition, your cat or dog’s stomach will swell, making them appear pot-bellied.

  1. LESS TOLERANT OF EXERCISE

One of the less obvious signs of heart disease may be your pet’s unwillingness to exercise. It’s normal if they’re panting or breathing heavily after a vigorous round of play, but if it takes them a long time to recover or they don’t want to play at all, this could be a sign that your pet needs a checkup.

  1. HEART MURMUR

Typically, when you listen to the sound of a heartbeat, you know that a “ba-dum, ba-dum” rhythm is the sound of a healthy heart. If there’s a “whooshing” sound that’s present, though, it means that there’s a heart murmur. Your vet or a veterinary cardiologist can diagnose a murmur. If the size or reason for the murmur isn’t too severe, pets can live healthy and normal lives with one.

  1. CHANGE IN HEART RATE

Most of the time, you won’t notice a change in your pet’s heart rate without the help of a professional, but it can be an early sign of heart disease. For instance, a cat’s heart rate usually ranges between 140 and 220 beats per minute, while a dog’s heart will beat anywhere from 60 to 140 times per minute. If their heart rate is outside of that normal range, it may indicate heart disease.

  1. CHANGE IN BODY WEIGHT

Rapid weight loss in your pet is a warning sign. When your pet has heart disease and is losing a lot of weight quickly, it’s because there is a hormone-like substance produced at high levels during heart failure that results in muscle and weight loss.

  1. RESTLESSNESS OR HIDING

It’s often easier to tell when your dog isn’t feeling well as opposed to your cat. Your dog will usually become visibly distressed when they’re in pain or feeling sick, or even hide from you. Cats, on the other hand, are very good about hiding when they’re ill. Typically, heart disease starts appearing in cats between the ages of 4 and 6 years (but it can occur at any time), so make sure you pay close attention if you notice your cat being a lot more aloof than usual.

  1. LOSS OF APPETITE

If your cat or dog unexpectedly stops eating, it’s a good sign they’re not feeling well, but it could also be a sign of heart problems. Sometimes your pet may not eat for many hours, and that’s okay. However, if they go more than a day without food, this could cause problems, especially in cats. If cats don’t eat for an extended period, organs other than the heart can start to fail, so it’s essential to make sure they’re getting enough nutrients. A sign that your cat or dog isn’t feeling well is if they refuse to eat even one of their favorite treats.

 

Six Different Types of Heart Disease in Pets

“Heart disease” is a catch-all term for many different heart conditions. Here are some highlights of some of the most common heart diseases that we treat at BBVSH.

VALVULAR DISEASE

Valvular disease is a heart condition that can affect both cats and dogs. It appears when the valves within your pet’s heart are abnormal, which causes leakage and—over time—an enlarged heart. This disease typically affects 10% of dogs from ages 5 to 8, 25% of dogs ages 9 to 12, and 30-35% of dogs 13 and over. Unfortunately, it can lead to signs of congestive heart failure.

MYOCARDIAL DISEASE

When your cat or dog’s heart muscles become weak or stiff, we call this myocardial disease. This heart condition and weakening of the muscles makes it so that the heart is less efficient at pumping blood. This type of heart disease has also been seen in dogs eating diets high in peas and lentils. If detected early enough, this form of heart disease may be reversible. While the genetic forms of these diseases can’t be reversed, they may be able to be managed with medications and proper nutrition.

ARRHYTHMIAS

Remember when we talked about the typical “ba-dum, ba-dum” that you usually hear with heartbeats? When these sounds are not occurring in a predictable pattern, animals are experiencing an arrhythmia. An arrhythmia in dogs or cats is usually caused by other heart conditions or diseases elsewhere in the body.

PERICARDIAL DISEASE

Did you know that there is a sac around the heart called the pericardial sac? It’s there to provide lubrication for the heart and to protect it when it moves around. It is present in both humans and our pets. When that sac becomes filled with too much fluid, we call that pericardial disease.

CONGENITAL DISEASE

Sometimes our pets are born with quirks like extra toes or a missing tail, but they can also sometimes be born with abnormalities that we can’t see. With congenital heart disease, your cat or dog was born with a malformed heart that they possibly inherited from one of their parents. And while it may not always be a problem, as your pet ages, it can lead to many other heart conditions. Some forms of congenital heart diseases in puppies can be improved or even cured with surgery performed by a veterinary cardiologist.

HEARTWORM DISEASE

Spread through mosquito bites, heartworms can be deadly to both dogs and cats. Although this is not prevalent in our region, it is very common in dogs that are brought here from other locations such as the southern United States.

OUR PHONES ARE INTERMITTENT

Due to the Canada-wide TELUS phone outage, our phone lines are functioning intermittently. If you cannot reach us by phone, please contact us at info@bbvsh.com

Thank you for your patience.

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