Pet Care
HEART
DISEASE
IN
DOGS
By Dr Bhanu Dev Sharma*
What are the signs of heart
disease in dogs?
Exercise
intolerance,
coughing, lethargy, panting
excessively, anorexia, weight
loss, distended abdomen, fainting or
syncope etc are some of the common signs
of heart disease in dogs. Th ough these signs
and symptoms are also found in a lot of
other diseases, hence it is important to rule
out other possible diseases which may be
associated with these signs.
W
How do you know if your dog
has a heart disease?
Get your dog checked from a vet
cardiologist if your dog has any of the above
mentioned signs or symptoms. Th ere are
various tests like x rays, echocardiography,
electrocardiography, just to name a few.
In the fi rst place, your veterinarian will
auscultate the chest and listen to the heart
and lung sounds. Any abnormal sound
like a murmur or an arrhythmia will be an
indication for a cardiac disease, following
which various tests may be performed
accordingly. Knowledge of the breed and
the diseases it is predisposed to also would
be helpful to detect a cardiac disease in the
initial stages.
Chest x rays will tell us about any cardiac
32
enlargement. It will also give us an
indication regarding what all chambers of
the heart are enlarged. Heart enlargement
can be because of a valvular problem in
which there is backfl ow of blood, heart
muscle dysfunction in which the heart is not
able to pump adequately, septal defects or it
may be because of various arrhythmias.
Echocardiography(heart
ultrasound)
will tell us about the structure and the
functioning of various valves(mitral,
tricuspid, aortic and pulmonic valve), it
will tell us about any leaky valve disease in
which the valve leafl ets are not able to close
completely leading to backfl ow of blood
and subsequent chamber enlargement.
With an echocardiogram, we can also know
about the pumping capability of the heart.
It will also tell us about the cardiac output.
Color Doppler and spectral Doppler
ultrasound exam will tell us about the
regurgitation across valves and estimates
of the velocities of blood fl ow. One of the
most common diseases in small breed
dogs is the mitral valve disease and in
large breed dogs is dilated cardiomyopathy,
which may be diagnosed by performing an
echocardiogram.
Electrocardiogram(ECG) will tell us about
the electrical activity of the heart and also
Creature Companion | February - March 2019 • Vol. XII • Issue 2 • Noida
about various diseases causing irregular
heart beats/arrythmias. Arrythmias also
impacts the cardiac output and hence aff ect
the overall energy levels of the dog. Th e
most common disease noted in dogs which
is diagnosed by ECG is Atrial fi brillation
followed by ARVC. Many times the cardiac
arrhythmias are secondary to an underlying
heart disease like mitral valve disease or
dilated cardiomyopathy.
Holter monitoring may also be performed
in which the electrical activity of the heart
is evaluated over a period of 24 hrs.
If timely intervention is not done, the
dog may develop fl uid build up in lungs
and congestive heart failure which is a life
threatening emergency.
Measures you can take if your dog
develops heart failure-
Congestive heart failure is a serious and
life threatening condition in dogs. You
need to take your dog immediately to a
vet cardiologist in case he or she develops
any signs related to heart disease. Your
veterinarian will perform tests and will
start with the treatment once a diagnosis is
established. Th e treatment may be medical
(diuretics, BP regulatory drugs, positive
ionotropic agents, Oxygen therapy, beta