Comments on: Dog Heart Murmur?

By: Chalice

Chalice — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:18:22 +0000

It sounds like everything that can be done has been done. Your dog is on every available med for hearts I think!
From what you’ve said, the problem isn’t just the heart murmur, it’s the cardiomegaly (enlarged heart). The only management for this is either meds, or a heart transplant. As far as I know, there has only been one successful heart transplant in the world in a cat, and I haven’t heard about dogs but imagine there’s been at least one. Obviously it would cost an obscene amount of money.
You should talk to your vet about possible further treatment – after all they’ve done well by you so far! You won’t get any better answers from Yahoo I’m afraid.
Ask your vet about what further treatment is available if necessary. No one on here is in a position to tell you what can be done for your dog, we haven’t examined him and we don’t know the case! (and there are hardly any professionals on here, if any)
Good luck
Chalice

By: DP

DP — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:28:59 +0000

I don’t think your dog has a heart murmur.. Sounds dialated cardiomyopathy.
Take a look herehttp://www.ovc.uoguelph.ca/ClinStudies/o…

By: peach

peach — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:25:18 +0000

I don’t think that the enlarged heart is caused by a heart murmur. Sounds like your dog has end stage heart disease. I doubt that much can be done to correct that besides a heart transplant. Comfort measures will be his best chance now.
I take it that it has just been l week since the new vet visit. Give the medicines time to work first. Once the heart is enlarged one cannot correct it.
I feel bad for you and your dog. It is obvious that you care for him very much. He is very lucky that you adopted him.

By: tmrvt

tmrvt — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:52:49 +0000

These problems are not being caused by the murmur itself. It sounds like your dog is suffering from heart failure and the murmur is simply just another clinical sign of that heart failure. You are doing alot to treat his condition, but unfortunately, there is no cure for heart disease. Ask your vet about cardiologists in your area. Has he ever had an ultrasound? If not, you can consider having one done. That is the best way for the vet to determine the extent of your dog’s heart condition and heart function.