Congestive Heart Failure

[Guest Shannon]

Hi,

I wonder if anyone has any information or experience with CHF in their greyhound. I have been using a cardiologist and he has her on Benepril and furosemide. That has been keeping her stable until the today. I will be calling the cardiologist tomorrow because she is now showing labored breathing. I just wondered if anyone has any experience on this. If there is an additional pill to help with the breathing or not? Any input would be much appreciated. I am a nervous wreck about this. I hope there is something they can do.

[silverfish]

Hi, Jim had congestive heart failure and was being treated by a cardiologist. I'll see if I can find what drugs he was on - I'm afraid I can't remember off the top of my head because if was a few years ago now. I do know he had heart pills plus diuretics. I think towards the end they added in a second diuretic, so that may be what your cardio will do this time.

 

Hugs to you. I know how hard it is to see them struggling. I want you to know that when we lost Jim it was peacefully, in his sleep after a darn good day where he had a fun little walk, and ate seconds at dinner. We felt it was a good way for him to go.

[scullysmum]

I am so glad Silverfish saw this....I knew she would be able to help

 

I lost one of my Greys to CHF but he deteriorated so quickly he never got to go on meds....hugs to you and your girl, I hope the vet can help you find something that will make her more comfortable, I know how awful it is to see them like that.

Edited August 25, 2007 by scullysmum

[Guest ss556]

Sending hugs and prayers. Hopefully another med will help.

[silverfish]

Here you go - now these are UK drug names:

 

Vasotop (ramipril) 5mg, one daily

Vetmedin (pimobendan) 5mg, twice daily

furosamide 40mg, one three times daily

 

and later he added spironolactone, but I can't remember the dose, I'm afraid. I don't have that written down.

 

The Vasotop is an ACE inhibitor, and the Vetmedin is a drug which strengthens the heartbeat, and also opens up the large blood vessels which reduces the load on the heart.

 

The cardio also advised me to give Jim high doses of Omega 3/6/9 oils and recommended this website.

 

The last time the cardio saw him, Jim was already showing marked difficulty in breathing with weaker pulse, increased murmur and mitral valve regurgitation. He gave him 3-6 months and he survived four. Every case is different, and that was three years ago, so treatment protocols have probably come on a way since then.

 

Good luck with your girl. If she's only on one 'heart' pill right now, it seems likely they can find something else to help her. The breathing could be plain old cardiac insufficiency resulting in low oxygen levels in the blood, or it could be fluid build-up. Only your cardio can tell you.

[Guest argolola]

I will pray for your sweet pup.

[Burpdog]

Sending prayers. Burp had it and I remember how scarey it was getting the right med combination.

[Guest chigal950]

Our hound Tai had CGF.

 

They will give you meds to control blood pressure and diuretics to control the fluids. Its the fluids which cause the labored breathing as the heart compresses the lungs. The will need to monitor blood levels of the meds because each hound processes them differently. I ended up having to give "pill portions" such as 1/2 pill in the AM or 1/4 pill 3x a day because a very little medicine, for our hound, went a long way. In addition to prescription meds I believe we also had her on Pepcid to help from the meds making her tummy feel bad.

 

An invaluable tip, I bought a pill splitter which you can get at any pharmacy. Also I found a pharmacy which would order for me EMPTY gelcaps. I needed to give a morning dose of 1/2 pill +1/3 pill + 1/4 pill + pepcid, this way I only had to get one capsule into the dog. I'd make up 4 days worth of gelcaps at a time and put them in those 'day of the week' pill keepers. It really does help you correctly manage their meds, which is VERY important if you want to help your hound. Baby dose syringes with water in them are helpful in getting the hound to swallow the capsule - insert capsule into back of mouth squirt in water, hound swallows. Takes a little practice until you both learn.

 

 

Please do note that one of the meds made Tai not want to eat and she started going downhill rapidly. If I recall correctly it was the digoxin (digitalis). We and vet figured this out and after reducing her dose she bounced right back.

 

We succuessfully managed CGF for 6 months - I am sure it would have been for MUCH longer but she developed osteo which moved quickly. She was doing quite well on the heart meds. Don't panic and work with your vet to understand all the meds and manage them faithfully and hopefully you will do well for a long time. Our vet did consult a cardiologist on the meds which was a nice sanity check.

 

Best wishes and keep us posted.

 

[Guest chigal950]

I just looked and I do not have anywhere a faithful list of meds she was on or the dosages but I know these 3:

 

Fuerosomide (lasix)

Digoxin

Spironolactone

 

And as I said, Pepcid for the tummy.

[MarcR]

Nadia is on Enalapril, digoxin and diltiazem for cardiomyopathy. She also gets fractional pills. I also use the daily pill "minders", but I use Pill Pockets to administer her meds. They are soft, cup shaped treats. Put the pills in the cup, pinch closed. They come in various sizes and in beef and chicken flavor. They're good enough that Nadia will actually come looking for her meds.

[Guest Tenderhearts]

I have an elderly lab mix here (14 yrs, 4 months) on meds for CHF. She came to me with a lot of coughing, lack of appetite, and underweight in April 2005. The vet estimated a good year with her on heart meds and we're now past 2 years this April

 

She's currently on furosemide- 40 mg X 2 daily, and enalapril (generic enacard)- 10 mg X 2 daily.

 

Edited to add: those are max doses for a 42 pound dog

Edited August 25, 2007 by Tenderhearts

[Guest Shannon]

Thank you so much for all the input. This is my first time posting here and I can't believe all the wonderful support. I did end up going to the cardiologist's office today. They did xrays, bloodwork and an exam and didnt feel that it was cardio related. I was shocked to say the least. Happy but shocked. They felt it was due to possible gastrointestinal disease pains or possible back pain ( she does have a lot of back pains). My vet has felt she may have LS but is worried about giving the injection due to her heart condition. I guess none of that is a good thing, but I am relieved that they feel that it isnt due to the CHF. I certainly hope so. I had tried her on tramadol to relieve back pain awhile ago but didnt seem to see much difference, it is hard to tell. But they want to try her on mirtazapine which is generic for remeron to try to increase her appetite, lower her anxiety and combat her nausea. Anyone heard of using that? I really appreciate all the input, especially being new here and all. All those meds that you have told me about I can keep in the back of my mind for later when I may need a change,it always helps to be informed I feel. Thank you again!

 

Nadia is on Enalapril, digoxin and diltiazem for cardiomyopathy. She also gets fractional pills. I also use the daily pill "minders", but I use Pill Pockets to administer her meds. They are soft, cup shaped treats. Put the pills in the cup, pinch closed. They come in various sizes and in beef and chicken flavor. They're good enough that Nadia will actually come looking for her meds.

 

I have never heard of pill pockets, they sound wonderful. Can you find them at most pet stores? It would make life much easier since I have 8 pills a day to give- with stomach and heart pills.

[Greytlady94]

Spironolactone and Lasix are both diuretics,

Digoxin is digitalis which helps with breathing in CHF patients,

Enalapril is for high blood pressure,

Diltiazem is for high blood pressure and angina,

Vasotop is an ACE inhibitor.

Pimobendan is used in the treatment of canines with congestive heart failure, dilated cardiomyopathy, pimobendan and mitral regurgitation.

There are also BETA blockers that can be prescribed such as atenolol and metoprolol.

 

I have not dealt with CHF in greyhounds however I have CHF and dilated cardiomyopathy myself.

 

Sending prayers for your girl.

 

 

Edited August 26, 2007 by Greytlady94

[MarcR]

Thank you so much for all the input. This is my first time posting here and I can't believe all the wonderful support. I did end up going to the cardiologist's office today. They did xrays, bloodwork and an exam and didnt feel that it was cardio related. I was shocked to say the least. Happy but shocked. They felt it was due to possible gastrointestinal disease pains or possible back pain ( she does have a lot of back pains). My vet has felt she may have LS but is worried about giving the injection due to her heart condition. I guess none of that is a good thing, but I am relieved that they feel that it isnt due to the CHF. I certainly hope so. I had tried her on tramadol to relieve back pain awhile ago but didnt seem to see much difference, it is hard to tell. But they want to try her on mirtazapine which is generic for remeron to try to increase her appetite, lower her anxiety and combat her nausea. Anyone heard of using that? I really appreciate all the input, especially being new here and all. All those meds that you have told me about I can keep in the back of my mind for later when I may need a change,it always helps to be informed I feel. Thank you again!

 

Nadia is on Enalapril, digoxin and diltiazem for cardiomyopathy. She also gets fractional pills. I also use the daily pill "minders", but I use Pill Pockets to administer her meds. They are soft, cup shaped treats. Put the pills in the cup, pinch closed. They come in various sizes and in beef and chicken flavor. They're good enough that Nadia will actually come looking for her meds.

 

I have never heard of pill pockets, they sound wonderful. Can you find them at most pet stores? It would make life much easier since I have 8 pills a day to give- with stomach and heart pills.

 

I buy them from my vet, but Petco and Pet Valu both carry them. They are actually less expensive at the vet (hard to believe, I know). They are a bit pricey... about $7.50 for a bag 30. Other tasty alternatives are liverwurst or peanut butter.

[Guest chigal950]

I think the empty gelcaps were about $8.00 for 100. Probably since they weren't being sold as a pet specialty item.