Heart Medication?

[kevin earl]

hi all

whats the general opinion on using heart meds like vetmedin and others before the dog has signs of coughing etc and even when the vet gives the opinion of a heart murmur they seem keen to get the dog on the meds, from my experience with our one when i said to mary lowe the vet said puppy she supplied has a murmur, first words were vets dont know whippets, and they give out signals of a murmur due to the large chest cavity, i also read about athletic heart syndrome where its a very normal for fast sighthounds to have this, there is plenty on google to read out there from all over the globe and it does make you read them as well when your dog has these problems, but its difficult sometimes to come to terms when the vet tell you unless he was on vetmedin for the past few years he would have probably been dead, food for thought eh

kevin

 

[June Jonigk]

My vet said not to treat a heart murmur until there were signs of problems, eg coughing/breathlessness. The last whippet I lost at 16yrs had had a heart murmur for at least the last 5 years. In the end it was her kidneys that gave out. She could have had 5 years on heart medication, but I don't think it would have made that much difference - she never did cough. My vet is one in a million though, I have confidence that he would never recommend anything that he wouldn't use or do for his own dog.

 

[Hula]

I had a middle aged whippet who developed a heart murmur . It never did get any worse and in the end she died of cancer .

I currently have an old whippet who is on vetmedin . She is on this because she developed symptoms .

Some vets do know about whippets and some even keep them themselves .

 

[Whippets Rule]

Badger my whippet was only put on vetmedin when he collapsed and a few days after was coughing. Prior to that he was diagnosed with a loud systolic murmur which was not treated until he collapsed.

Bryn my lurcher has a grade 3 murmur which he has had since he was five years old, he has never had treatment for it and is still doing fine. |Bryn is 13 and a half years old now.

my vet said that he wouldn't put a dog on heart drugs until there are symptoms as it just isn't necessary, once symptoms begin, then is the time the dog needs drugs.murmurs can remain the same degree for years with no change so it is not necessary to treat just because a murmur can be heard.

 

[kevin earl]

i would probably agree with that now but we have started him a couple of years ago now after we were told he had a grade 3/4 and heart was enlarged, i am not sure if the meds have really had a positive effect over that period but we are now faced with ace inhibitors as well so i think that vets in all ares have different views on this and to me seem not to be consistent with prescribing drugs, he never had episodes of fainting , only a slight cough which now has got worse due to pressure on the windpipe

 

[kevin earl]

just an update on bailey vet has now decided to keep him on a half torbutrol steroid also predisalone as well, as i said the x ray did show enlargement from 3 years ago and pushing up on windpipe which causes cough, i am happy he has improved but i am wary on the vetmedin as i read a report that it can cause too much pressure on the enlarged heart by causing stronger contractions and can possibly make it worse instead of better anyway we keep an eye on the matter

 

[Whippets Rule]

just an update on bailey vet has now decided to keep him on a half torbutrol steroid also predisalone as well, as i said the x ray did show enlargement from 3 years ago and pushing up on windpipe which causes cough, i am happy he has improved but i am wary on the vetmedin as i read a report that it can cause too much pressure on the enlarged heart by causing stronger contractions and can possibly make it worse instead of better anyway we keep an eye on the matter

I wouldn't believe everything you read, Vetmedin is probably the best heart medication on the market. Vetmedin helps open up the blood vessels and reduces how hard the heart has to work in order to get blood circulating.It improves the efficiency of the heart without increasing the strain on it. My dogs heart has reduced in size and regained it's proper shape and is working much more effectively in only three months on Vetmedin.

I'm sorry your boy has further enlargement of his heart and hope you have him around for a lot longer yet.

 

[Misslara]

My whippet was diagnosed with an enlarged heart yesterday after been treated for kennel cough for over two months ! when the cough and nasal discharge wouldn't clear up i took her to another vets yesterday she kept her in x-rayed her and had a look up her nose,i collected her yesterday and was told about the heart condition she was put on Vetmedin half a tab a day and some abs for the nasal discharge but we are waiting swap results for that.

I was also told she would need to lose a bit of weight shes 15kg and needs to be aorund 12/13 and to change her diet to reduce salt intake any ideas as to what i can feed her she has wet food at the moment bcause shes not that keen on dry!!

She has to go back on the 6th dec for a check up so i am keeping my fingers crossed for good results from the vetmedin.

 

[Whippets Rule]

My whippet was diagnosed with an enlarged heart yesterday after been treated for kennel cough for over two months ! when the cough and nasal discharge wouldn't clear up i took her to another vets yesterday she kept her in x-rayed her and had a look up her nose,i collected her yesterday and was told about the heart condition she was put on Vetmedin half a tab a day and some abs for the nasal discharge but we are waiting swap results for that.
I was also told she would need to lose a bit of weight shes 15kg and needs to be aorund 12/13 and to change her diet to reduce salt intake any ideas as to what i can feed her she has wet food at the moment bcause shes not that keen on dry!!

She has to go back on the 6th dec for a check up so i am keeping my fingers crossed for good results from the vetmedin.

sorry to hear about your dog...you can buy senior dog food in tins if you don't want to give dry food. Most senior foods are low in fat and will help with weight loss, also reducinf portion size should help too. I don't know about salt intake as we haven't had to reduce salt in our dogs diet, he just has a good quality senior dry food.

it will take atleast ten days before you start to see an improvement as it takes a while for the vetmedin to really work. My dog is 15.2kg( he's 21 inches tall) and the right weight for his height and he is on half a vetmedin tab twice a day.

 

[Misslara]

My whippet was diagnosed with an enlarged heart yesterday after been treated for kennel cough for over two months ! when the cough and nasal discharge wouldn't clear up i took her to another vets yesterday she kept her in x-rayed her and had a look up her nose,i collected her yesterday and was told about the heart condition she was put on Vetmedin half a tab a day and some abs for the nasal discharge but we are waiting swap results for that.
I was also told she would need to lose a bit of weight shes 15kg and needs to be aorund 12/13 and to change her diet to reduce salt intake any ideas as to what i can feed her she has wet food at the moment bcause shes not that keen on dry!!

She has to go back on the 6th dec for a check up so i am keeping my fingers crossed for good results from the vetmedin.

sorry to hear about your dog...you can buy senior dog food in tins if you don't want to give dry food. Most senior foods are low in fat and will help with weight loss, also reducinf portion size should help too. I don't know about salt intake as we haven't had to reduce salt in our dogs diet, he just has a good quality senior dry food.

it will take atleast ten days before you start to see an improvement as it takes a while for the vetmedin to really work. My dog is 15.2kg( he's 21 inches tall) and the right weight for his height and he is on half a vetmedin tab twice a day.

Thanks for that yes mine is 15kg and 21in tall but said she needs to lose some weight she has been on the tabs now for three days and already i have noticed a difference in her not coughing so much,she also takes half a tab twice a day although at first she wasn't keen :unsure: but now takes them ok.

i will try the senior food for her.

 

[Whippets Rule]

My whippet was diagnosed with an enlarged heart yesterday after been treated for kennel cough for over two months ! when the cough and nasal discharge wouldn't clear up i took her to another vets yesterday she kept her in x-rayed her and had a look up her nose,i collected her yesterday and was told about the heart condition she was put on Vetmedin half a tab a day and some abs for the nasal discharge but we are waiting swap results for that.
I was also told she would need to lose a bit of weight shes 15kg and needs to be aorund 12/13 and to change her diet to reduce salt intake any ideas as to what i can feed her she has wet food at the moment bcause shes not that keen on dry!!

She has to go back on the 6th dec for a check up so i am keeping my fingers crossed for good results from the vetmedin.

sorry to hear about your dog...you can buy senior dog food in tins if you don't want to give dry food. Most senior foods are low in fat and will help with weight loss, also reducinf portion size should help too. I don't know about salt intake as we haven't had to reduce salt in our dogs diet, he just has a good quality senior dry food.

it will take atleast ten days before you start to see an improvement as it takes a while for the vetmedin to really work. My dog is 15.2kg( he's 21 inches tall) and the right weight for his height and he is on half a vetmedin tab twice a day.

Thanks for that yes mine is 15kg and 21in tall but said she needs to lose some weight she has been on the tabs now for three days and already i have noticed a difference in her not coughing so much,she also takes half a tab twice a day although at first she wasn't keen :unsure: but now takes them ok.

i will try the senior food for her.

my boy won't take the tablets so I have to hide them in a morsel of food.....if you do this, make sure it is hidden in something that is not fatty as this slows down how his gut will break down the tablet....I bought a few tins of Chappie and hide his tablet in a small ball of chappie and he takes it fine.

Glad to hear your girly is already improving, that's amazing she is getting better already...good luck long may she continue x