In the event that your veterinarian diagnoses your dog with a heart murmur issue, this could be an indication of an underlying canine heart disease.

Standards of the Veterinary community suggest that a heart murmur is the result of abnormal blood flow through the dog’s heart. Heart murmurs are not always bad, some are normal and indicate no problem, but others, like those noticed in older dogs, can be an signal that an underlying canine heart disease is present. The most commonly occurring canine heart diseases are:

A) Congenital birth defects appearing in an immature puppy

B) Heart valve leaks (degenerative valve disease), affecting older and middle age dogs, for the most part.

C) Deterioration of heart muscle tissue, which is normally found in still developing dogs, or in middle age canines from large breeds.

Detecting The Disease

Canine heart disease might not be discovered until quite late – that is to say, once if has reached the degree when it manifests itself in heart failures, collapse, or in worst case scenarios – immediate death. You can have your dog checked early on for heart murmurs by your veterinarian, and it is also your duty as a pet owner to watch out for some signs like trouble breathing, cough, reluctance to exercise, and abdomincal swelling which is caused by the retentin of fluids.

Other information that can aid in checking for the presence of canine heart disease are: the canine’s breed, age, blood pressure readings, EKG readings, and chest x-ray results. But in order to get a 100% definite diagnosis, an ultrasound of the dog’s heart will be necessary.

Treating Dog Heart Disease

Nursing your pooch back to full health is dependent upon the progression of the disease and the severity of its effects on other parts of the body. In the case of a young puppy with a birth defect, it may be possible to have it corrected through a surgical procedure.

Heart disease that arises at a later point in the dog’s life necessitates some big changes in lifestyle and discliplined habits for the dog. These changes likely include losing weight and maintaining a health weight, additional exercise or reduced activity depends on your dog’s condition and overall health, special dietary changes, and a medicinal program for the relief of stress, to limit the effect of stress on the dog’s heart.

The future outlook for dogs with canine heart disease are different from dog to dog. Certain dogs could undergo successful longterm care and maintenance. Other dogs will face a reduced lifespan of anywhere from several weeks to several years. The main thing to understand is that the earlier you discover the dog’s disease, the easier it will be to treat it and the higher the chances will be that he can live a long, healthy and vibrant life.