Jump to content

Heart Murmur And Bloat Scare


Recommended Posts

We are (most likely) fine! I'm just posting this in case it's helpful to anyone else.

 

My 4 year old grey woke me up at 7:30 this morning with "funny sounds" and when I checked on him, he was trying to eat the doormat. I shooed him away, gave him a cookie, and shut him in the bedroom with me. He would not settle and kept pacing and smacking his lips. He also tried to eat his blanket. I got really worried when he started dry retching and took him into the vet immediately in case he had bloated. He furiously tried to eat grass on the way to the car.

 

The vet heard a heart murmur which was not in previous visits. They x-rayed his heart and stomach. Stomach is fine! But there was a lot of gas in his intestines that is the likely culprit for making him feel uncomfortable. He started passing gas at the vet, as he usually does whenever he's anxious. That seemed to help reduce his discomfort!

 

He has a VHS 11.48, but the vet says it's normal for greyhounds to have VHS of up to 12. He's not too concerned about the heart murmur as it is relatively common in athletic breeds such as huskies (he's not as familiar with greyhounds). It is unknown whether a murmur would affect longevity. We'll just be keeping an eye on if for any changes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As your vet said, a heart murmur is fairly common and most greyhounds that have one live full and long, normal lives. One of the reasons bloat is so hard on them is because the gas can cause the other organs to expand and put pressure on the heart.

 

Glad your boy is OK.

Chris - Mom to: Felicity (DeLand), and Andi (Braska Pandora)

52592535884_69debcd9b4.jpgsiggy by Chris Harper, on Flickr

Angels: Libby (Everlast), Dorie (Dog Gone Holly), Dude (TNJ VooDoo), Copper (Kid's Copper), Cash (GSI Payncash), Toni (LPH Cry Baby), Whiskey (KT's Phys Ed), Atom, Lilly

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Check with your vet for the dosage, but I think Gas-X is fine.

15060353021_97558ce7da.jpg
Kathy and Q (CRT Qadeer from Fuzzy's Cannon and CRT Bonnie) and
Jane (WW's Aunt Jane from Trent Lee and Aunt M); photos to come.

Missing Silver (5.19.2005-10.27.2016), Tigger (4.5.2007-3.18.2016),
darling Sam (5.10.2000-8.8.2013), Jacey-Kasey (5.19.2003-8.22.2011), and Oreo (1997-3.30.2006)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

glad everything is OK! I kept children's gas-x on hand for Fletcher and a few times it saved us a trip to the e-vet in the middle of the night.

 

(disclaimer! it doesn't prevent or cure bloat, it just relieves gas build up pretending to be bloat. always be ready to go to the vet if things don't improve right away)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is good news it was not bloat! As others have stated, heart mumurs are quite common and I believe you just need to monitor over time to ensure it does not get worse.

Kyle with Stewie ('Super C Ledoux, Super C Sampson x Sing It Blondie) and forever missing my three angels, Jack ('Roy Jack', Greys Flambeau x Miss Cobblepot) and Charlie ('CTR Midas Touch', Leo's Midas x Hallo Argentina) and Shelby ('Shari's Hooty', Flying Viper x Shari Carusi) running free across the bridge.

Gus an coinnich sinn a'rithist my boys and little girl.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My Whippet has had a hear murmur since I got her at 14 mo. She is now 14 1/2 yr old. they tell me now it is full blown . For about a yr she is on a blood pressure med ( minimal ). Otherwise she is doing great. Gets tired more, she is getting " old ". Vet said she will probably die from something else not the heart. She takes walks with us, hops around with the younger whippets and thinks she is much younger.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...