![]() ![]() Grade 1: heard inconsistently in a quiet room with a quiet animal.This is why further investigation into the cause of the murmur with a veterinary cardiologist is useful to guide treatment recommendations and provide prognostic information. Quiet murmurs may still represent severe heart disease in a patient, while conversely, loud murmurs may not impact a dog lifelong, depending on the diagnosis. This scale is somewhat subjective since every veterinarian’s ears are different, but it is useful to describe murmurs and monitor them over time. Murmurs are graded on a scale that refers to their loudness (see below). Weakening of the heart muscle (dilated cardiomyopathy)ĭoes the loudness (grade) of the murmur correlate with the severity of heart disease present?.Thickening of the heart valves (myxomatous mitral/tricuspid valve degeneration).Narrowing of, at, or below the aortic valve (aortic/subaortic stenosis).Narrowing of the pulmonary valve (pulmonic stenosis).Extra vessel connecting the great arteries (patent ductus arteriosus).Infection of the heart valves (endocarditis).Defects in the heart muscle walls (ventricular septal defect).Some of the common causes of heart murmurs in dogs include: What causes a heart murmur in dogs?Īnything that changes the blood flow through the heart creating turbulence can cause a murmur to be heard. If your puppy has a louder murmur that has been heard at several vet visits, it is recommended that your pet be evaluated by a veterinary cardiologist to determine if intervention (medicine or surgery) is advised. These murmurs are usually low grade (quiet) and show no signs of affecting the animal. Some puppies can grow out of heart murmurs by approximately 16 weeks of age. Will my puppy “grow out” of his heart murmur? Additional diagnostic testing, such as an echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart) will likely be required. The only way to know the significance of your pet’s murmur is to work with your veterinarian and/or a Veterinary Cardiologist (specialist) to determine the cause of the murmur and the severity of the heart disease, if present. Some heart murmurs are benign or harmless and may go away on their own, particularly in puppies. A heart murmur is a clinical finding-not a disease diagnosis. Not necessarily not all dogs diagnosed with a heart murmur will suffer from cardiac (heart) disease. ![]() Does a heart murmur mean my dog has heart disease? When an additional “whooshing” sound is heard between the normal heart sounds, this is called a heart murmur. Like people, an animal’s heart should have two distinct heart sounds: lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub. What is a heart murmur?Ī heart murmur is an abnormal sound that a veterinarian hears when listening to a pet’s heart with a stethoscope during a physical exam. This article aims to clarify common myths and misconceptions regarding heart murmurs in dogs so that any pet owner can understand the significance of this diagnosis and the next best steps. Learning that your dog has been diagnosed with a heart murmur can be unsettling and leave you with several questions after your vet visit. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |