I Knew My Girl Was Sick

[Busderpuddle]

Been feeling that Ruby just was acting weird for several weeks now so took her into the vet today and he discovered that she has a heart murmur and a pretty "loud and big" one. He asked a ton of questions and then decided we are to bring her back in in 2-3 months to see if it is still there, and if it is, we will take her to a specialist to get a Echo done. He said not to over run or walk her but other than that, no restrictions. She is only 6 years old so I am freaked out of course.

Does anyone here have a dog with a murmur ? What did you do ?

[Guest BlueCrab]

Trixie has a murmur. On some vet visits it seems to be more "severe" than others, but this last visit they didn't even seem to hear it, so it seems to be changeable - and Trixie never stresses at the vet, so it's not stress-related to the vet visit itself. They've never put us on any restrictions.

 

If she's that young and they feel it's severe enough to put her on restrictions, I'd be going to the specialist now. I wouldn't try to keep her calm for 2-3 months - I wouldn't be able to keep Trixie calm for that long (much less 2-3 days!).

 

From what my vet said, it seems a lot of retired greys seem to have it. Not sure if it's genetic / breed related, or stress-related due to their prior careers.

[Hubcitypam]

Poodle has had a grade 3 murmur for several (4-5?) years. We've just muddled along as usual.

[fliggie]

I have a heart murmur. I don't know how people compare to animals but my doctor told me that they were much easier to hear when the patient was dehydrated...which I was at the time and wondering why no one else had ever picked up on it. Maybe that accounts for how loud or detectable one is??

[Guest DeniseL]

My Galga, Izzy has a grade 3. Last year when we adopted her it was a 1-2. The last time the vet listened to it, it was a little louder, but, apparently, they can vary a little depending on certain factors. We are just keeping an eye on it. She actually goes for her annual next week and I'm sure it will take up a good chunk of the appointment. I watch her for the obvious signs of heart disease and her vet taught me to count her resting breathing rate to watch for changes, but so far, so good. Of course, if it gets significantly worse, she will need to see a cardiologist.

 

My mixed breed, Maya, had a grade 2-3 heart murmur her whole life with no problems whatsoever.

[Guest DeniseL]

When izzy is sleeping, I will count her breaths. Her vet said anything over 30 breaths per minute could be a sign of developing heart disease...also to watch for coughing, especially at night, and exercise intolerance or trouble breathing.

Edited January 8, 2014 by DeniseL

[vjgrey]

Lucy was diagnosed with a grade 2-3 murmur when she was four. She's now six and a half, and the murmur has stayed the same. She sees a cardiologist for an echo every eighteen months and gets geriatric bloodwork every six months. We're extra cautious about anesthesia, and when she needed stitches for a leg injury, the cardiologist recommended intravenous antibiotics. We give her fish oil every day, but so far, no other meds have been necessary.

[krissy]

Kili was born with a murmur... but of course a lot of greyhounds are. I have lots of patients with murmurs that suffer no obvious problems. A new murmur is definitely more concerning though. Hopefully the echo will go well.

[TINMANPDX]

No advice, but hoping it isn't serious and sending good thoughts for Ruby.

 

When izzy is sleeping, I will count her breaths. Her vet said anything over 30 breaths per minute could be a sign of developing heart disease...also to watch for coughing, especially at night, and exercise intolerance or trouble breathing.

That is interesting. I just counted Elliott's respiration (he's napping) and it was only 10 breaths in a minute, so 30 would be really fast breathing.

[Riverhound]

Joe has a murmur. Vet says not to worry, and checks it each time I bring him in. I have a murmur, and it's the same deal.

[Guest DeniseL]

No advice, but hoping it isn't serious and sending good thoughts for Ruby.

 

That is interesting. I just counted Elliott's respiration (he's napping) and it was only 10 breaths in a minute, so 30 would be really fast breathing.

I counted izzy's while I was typing that and she is at about 17...

She has never gotten close to 30, usually is between 10-20

[MandysMom]

Mandy had a murmur for years. Our vet at the time suggested we monitor it and if it didn't change, not to worry. If she showed any clinical signs of heart issues (coughing, panting, extreme lethargy, etc), we would take action. She did add that if I found I couldn't sleep, she'd refer Mandy to a cardiologist. The murmur didn't change for 6+ years.

Edited January 9, 2014 by MandysMom

[tbhounds]

Did the veterinarian run other diagnostic tests ie blood work, urinalysis, chest rads.... to see why you felt she has been off?? She shouldn't be symptomatic of cardiac disease with this newly found murmur. I'm assuming the murmur may be a red herring and something else may be going on.

[Guest june]

No experience with heart murmer, but just want to send HUGS to you and Ruby.

[Busderpuddle]

Thanks everyone for the info and the hugs. The vet said he didn't feel that labs were necessary at this time, and he said because of the murmur, the heart labs would be abnormal and still he would recommend waiting the 2 months. I really trust this vet and he has a lot of experience with greyhounds. He did say if the murmur is still there, he will do a chest x-ray to send with her visit to have the Echo. He is really good about not running up the bill just because. We of course are willing to do whatever it takes to make sure she is healthy, but if he was comfortable waiting, we are too. If anything changes we will take her in ASAP.

He did say he didn't think her murmur has anything to do with her new clinginess and weirdness. He just said to continue to watch her and if it worsens we will do more investigating. She did have labs 6 months ago that were all normal, except a slightly high thyroid, which when ran by you guys, was actually normal. He said she shows zero signs of thyroid issues.

I just checked her breathing and it was 10 also.

He didn't say to limit her exercise but to not over work her. No extra long hikes, etc....that she is not used to.

[Guest DogNewbie]

Hugs to you and your pup! Sending prayers

[a_daerr]

Henry has a low-grade murmur that went undetected for years. It's steadily been 1 or 2 / 6, so we've never pursued any additional testing. Greyhounds naturally have "athletic" hearts, so I've always been told slight murmurs aren't a big deal. With that being said, greyhounds can have cardiac problems just like any other dog, so it's important to do more testing if the murmur gets worse or you notice other symptoms. Do what the vet says, but in the meantime, try not to worry too much.

[JJNg]

If your vet said that her murmur was a "pretty loud and big one", that sounds like more than the 'normal' greyhound heart murmur, which is very soft. Personally, in a dog who is not acting herself, I would pursue further testing now, rather than waiting. Monitoring a mild heart murmur in a dog who is acting completely normal is a reasonable approach, but if the dog is not acting right, that's reason to at least do chest x-rays now. And if your vet feels that the murmur isn't related to why she's acting weird, that's even more reason to do some bloodwork, even if just for peace of mind, since you haven't gotten any answers on why she's acting weird.

The vet said he didn't feel that labs were necessary at this time, and he said because of the murmur, the heart labs would be abnormal and still he would recommend waiting the 2 months.

Not really sure what your vet meant by this? Basic bloodwork doesn't check heart levels, and a murmur itself wouldn't cause changes in bloodwork. A heart murmur is essentially just blood flow within the heart that causes an abnormal sound. The finding of a murmur is a nonspecific sign with lots of different underlying causes.

She did have labs 6 months ago that were all normal, except a slightly high thyroid, which when ran by you guys, was actually normal. He said she shows zero signs of thyroid issues.

 

I assume you meant a low thyroid level? Greyhound thyroid levels run lower than other dogs. A high thyroid level is abnormal in all dogs.

[tbhounds]

Thanks JJNg-I was about to post with the same questions/concerns -confused why more diagnostics aren't being done now.

[Charlies_Dad]

A heart murmur can be nothing or it can be something serious. Whether it is related to changes in Ruby is debatable however I will always caution people about the statement, "murmurs are common in Greyhounds so nothing to worry about". I agree they seem to be common but our Jack who had a grade 2-3 quickly went downhill when it developed into a 4, then CHF and then we lost him at 8.5 yrs old. All this time he was on heart meds so it is obvious he had really bad heart disease but it came on very quickly, 8 mths from diagnosis to he was gone.

 

Good thoughts for Ruby that her mumur is nothing serious and the her being 'off' is nothing serious either.

Edited January 9, 2014 by Charlies_Dad

[MP_the4pack]

Pearl had a significant heart murmur when she was 5 and we went to a cardiologist. She did have heart disease. With some meds she lived to 12 and died of cancer.

 

I'd go to a cardiologist now. If nothing else it will give you peace of mind that it's "nothing". Or she can go on meds and do very well. The cardiologist didn't want Pearl to be inactive, she encouraged play (just not real athletic stuff like when she raced).

[duncan41]

Dr. Couto mentioned GH murmurs in the Idexx online seminars; there are GH murmurs and then there are "other breed" murmurs. Is your Vet GH savvy? If not, for your peace of mind, you might want to consider getting a second opinion from a specialist. If nothing else, you will have established a baseline.

[Guest grey_dreams]

Some dogs stabilize with heart murmur and it doesn't really progress much during subsequent years, and some develop more severe disease relatively quickly. I would also opt for more extensive testing at this early stage (echocardiogram/ultrasound) with a cardiologist. They can identify the cause of the disease, which will give you more information on which to base a prediction of how fast the disease may progress. Some vets prefer not to start medicine until symptoms become apparent, whereas others prefer to start meds sooner. However, there are natural supplements that can help aid heart health and delay onset of more severe symptoms, such as CoQ10, carnitine, taurine, hawthorn.

[macoduck]

Did your vet give the murmur a numerical rating?

[Busderpuddle]

Our vet said it sounded like a 2 to him. We are going to take his advice and wait the 2 months to see if it continues, and I am monitoring her heart rate per his request. If the murmur continues, she will have the Echo done. He is grey savvy and that is why we trust him.

Obviously if anything changes we will get her in ASAP.

Thanks for all the advice and info.