Okay, Tell Me Not To Be Scared--please

[levriere]

 

Here is a picture of Casey after becoming a blood donor last year.

 

Tonight he was supposed to donate again and instead Carol brought him back into the exam room after his pre-donation physical and said, "Casey has a heart murmur and probably needs to see a cardiologist." She said she would be emailing his test results to Casey's vet and that I should call her to see what we should do next. The murmur is in the left side of the heart, which means nothing to me, except TOTAL PANIC. He just saw the vet last week for his shots and the doctor didn't hear anything then, but I'm sure her exam wasn't as detailed as the one at Dove Lewis (they did an electrocardiogram). Oh, and he can't be a blood donor any more either.

 

I know I need to hear from his doctor before sinking even farther into a black hole, but do any of you have dogs with heart murmurs and what is the usual treatment for them?

 

Please, please, let this be not serious.

Edited January 4, 2008 by levriere

[HopeForHounds]

Only your vet can confirm, but here is something to read that is at least encouraging.

 

I remember when Dr Couto visited for a lecture, he mentioned that not all murmers in greyhounds are a health concern. Here is a link to OSU's Q & A click on # 2 then click on the link to an article.

 

Link

I'm hoping that this is what the blood bank was concerned about.

[Batmom]

What foxysmom said.

 

If he does have a heart murmur ... there usually is no treatment unless/until he develops symptoms.

 

Good luck!

[Guest greybookends]

There are different degrees of heart murmers. Some they can out grow some are more serious. Ginny had a level 2 or 3 as a puppy when we first got her. She is fine now. Only you vet can tell you for sure. Just wait to see what he says before you panic. In the mean time we will be praying for Casey.

:hope :hope :hope

[Guest DoofBert]

Tessa had slight murmur at age 3 (when she retired).... no sign of any problems now at almost age 8....she's had two dentals since she's been retired. Normal activity level for a diva girl.

[Guest HeatherDemps]

As someone already mentioned, there are different grades of heart murmurs. I myself had a heart murmur growing up but it is now undetectable. My italian greyhound has one around a grade 3 and we just get him checked a couple of times a year and right now, the only thing we would have to watch is when he's under for dentals, etc.

[Trudy]

I had a border collie growing up with a heart murmur - wasn't ever a problem for him and he was about 382342 times more active than any grey I've ever met or heard about.

 

Don't worry about it yet as it may be nothing to worry about. Talk to your vet and go from there.

[Jiffer]

I wouldn't fret. A year ago, Atlas was a donor too. That is until they did his physical (he had donated blood the week before), she brought him into the room and told me that he can't donate until we find out exactly how severe his murmur is. Since he's asymptomatic and on the advice of our vet, I haven't bothered to invest the $500 or so to have an EKG done.

He's a perfectly happy, healthy eight and a half year old dog.

[Guest Dawn]

I have a heart murmur that was only detected 2 years ago...at age 48! Basically mine is a leaky valve that lets some of the blood swish backward...no big deal...just antibiotics before dentals! Don't worry most murmurs are quite benign!

Good Luck Casey!

 

Dawn

[silverfish]

Unless a murmur is diagnosed by a competent greyhound vet and confirmed by a veterinary cardiologist, don't panic. Heart murmurs are often misdiagnosed in greyhounds due to their larger-than-average hearts combined with the narrow, deep chest. And echo can be heard which can be mistaken for a murmur.

 

Here's an interesting link -

 

http://www.gcnm.org/heartnews.html

 

Greyhounds do GET heart murmurs - my first one died from congestive heart failure, but not until many years after his murmur was first diagnosed. And some of the time murmurs in greyhounds are real but they're not pathological, that is, they do not cause disease, and they're not an indication of disease.

 

If you're in any doubt, ask for a referral to a veterinary cardiologist. You will then know for sure what you have, and if it's a concern. The only problem, of course, is that it will not be cheap to do.

 

Good luck!

[grey14me]

I've heard that greyhounds are often misdiagnosed with heart murmurs by vets who just haven't listened to a lot of greyhound hearts, so don't panic!

[greytlucy]

Lucy has a heart murmur. A vet first mentioned it to me about 5 years ago(she's now almost twelve). We did go to the cardiologist and had a full workup. It's a fairly minor one and the workup was expensive but worth it to know exactly what we're dealing with and to have baselines to watch as she gets older. I have her rechecked every couple years(especially if a dental is going to be done). So far nothing has changed and she's never had to take any meds for it.

 

So...I'd definitely have it checked out but wouldn't panic about it. Good luck!

[Remolacha]

Sugar has a heart murmur, first diagnosed a couple of years ago. She was on fairly low doses of Enalapril and Lasix because she did have symptoms, but once on the meds, she was fine. I did take her to a cardiologist this summer as the symptoms had returned, and her heart disease had gotten worse, but with an increase in the dosage of her meds (and the addition of a new one), she is again symtom free and as active as her arthritis will allow. She was 10 when diagnosed, and is 12 now.

 

So, don't be scared, you may not even need to give meds, and even if it is bad, it is quite managable

[jodyksam]

Daisy has a very slight heart murmur that appeared last year. Our vet graded it at a '2' which is low, but still recommended that we see a specialist. It was money well spent, because as a result of the echo test, Daisy's murmur has been graded down to a '1' and actually the specialist said it's a 'trace 1' if at all. We'll return this summer for a retest to be sure there's been no increase in the murmur. The key thing is don't panic, and knowledge (echo test) is definitely powerful!

[Guest LeighandSam]

I have no experience in dog heart murmurs but I had one myself from age 2 to age 20 and it went away on its own. I didn't feel a thing.

 

Good luck.

[MP_the4pack]

Pearl has a heart murmur. Only a cardiologist can tell you if it's a real problem. Pearl is on a plethura of pills (15 a day). But, she's outlived her prognosis and is an active playful, 10 yr old.

 

She has a leaky mitral valve and her heart is enlargening on one side.

 

So....don't panic even if you see a cardiologist and they say there is a problem The only problem will be if you wait too long. Pearl was diagnosed 4 yrs ago. We caught it early and kept up with regular checkups.