Download Does your pet have a healthy heart?

Turramurra Vet Hospital
2 Princes Street
Turramurra, NSW, 2074
[email protected]
www.turramurravet.com.au
Phone: 02 9988 0198
Does your pet have a healthy heart?
June 2014
Contents of this newsletter
01 Heart disease and what to watch out for
02 Get to know your pet's SRR
03 Heartworm - is prevention really
necessary?
04 Cat performs CPR
05 Happy pets
01 Heart disease and what to watch out for
Diseases of the heart can be sneaky. They tend to creep up on
your pet and clinical signs might not appear until the heart is in
serious trouble.
Knowing the signs of heart disease and starting treatment early
can make a big difference to your pet's quality of life and
longevity.
Heart disease leads to a failure of the pumping mechanism of the
heart. It is often referred to as congestive failure as it results in
pooling of blood in the lungs.
The signs to look out for in dogs and cats:
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Laboured or fast breathing
An enlarged abdomen
Weight loss or poor appetite
Signs to look out for in dogs only:
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Coughing, especially at night
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A reluctance to exercise and tiring more easily on walks
Weakness or fainting associated with exercise
The good news is that there are medications available to help your
pet's heart work better. We will initially recommend X-rays and an
ultrasound of the heart so we know we are choosing the most
suitable medication.
If you think your pet is showing one or more of the above signs, it
is important that we see them for an examination. Early treatment
can help your pet lead a longer and happier life.
02 Get to know your pet's SRR
"What is SRR?" we hear you ask. SRR refers to Sleeping
Respiratory Rate and it is very useful in the assessment of the
onset or reoccurrence of left sided congestive heart failure (CHF)
in both dogs and cats. The good news is you can easily perform
this test at home!
Left sided congestive heart failure occurs with many of the
common cardiac diseases in our pets. When pressure in the top
left heart chamber increases and blood backs up into vessels
within the lung, it results in fluid accumulating in the lungs. This
fluid, referred to as pulmonary oedema, causes an increase in
your pet's respiratory rate.
How to monitor Sleeping Respiratory Rate
The recording should be done when the animal is asleep in a
thermo-neutral environment (ie, not too cold, not too hot). This
should be repeated daily for 2-3 days (to get a baseline variation),
and then once or twice weekly.
Normal SRR
Normal SRR in dogs and cats is less than 30 breaths per minute,
often in the high teens or low 20s. Consistent SRR greater than 30
breaths per minute in patients with underlying heart disease is
strongly suggestive of developing CHF (although respiratory
disease needs to also be ruled out).
What to do if the SRR is high
Contact us if your pet's SRR is consistently over 30 breaths per
minute. If everything else suggests CHF as the cause, we may
perform chest X-rays and start your pet on a medication trial.
An elevated SRR can also be caused by high blood pressure,
anaemia, pneumonia, heat stress or a fever so if you are
concerned about your pet it is best to arrange a check up with us
as soon as possible.
03 Heartworm - is prevention really necessary?
The prevention of heartworm disease is one of the most important
things that you must do for your pet. Heartworm is the most
dangerous of all the worms, and an intestinal ‘all wormer' tablet
does not prevent heartworm infection.
Mosquitoes spread heartworm and wherever there are
mosquitoes, there is the risk of heartworm. When the mosquito
feeds on your pet's blood, larvae enter the blood stream. These
larvae mature into worms that can reach up to an astounding 30
cm in length!
The worms eventually become lodged in your pet's heart leading
to heart failure and sometimes death. Dogs are more commonly
affected by heartworm disease but cats may also be at risk.
This disease is definitely a case of prevention being better than the
cure. Getting your pet started on the right heartworm medication
can be confusing, especially with so many choices on the market.
There are topical treatments, oral treatments and an injection for
dogs. Ask us for the most suitable prevention for your pet - we will
make sure your pet is protected.
Adult heartworms lodge themselves in
the heart leading to heart disease
04 Cat performs CPR
We read an amazing story this month!
A 72 year old man with a history of heart related problems visited
his GP after being repeatedly attacked by his loyal moggy - while
he was sleeping.
The smart thinking GP thought that “perhaps the cat was
witnessing something which it deemed required intervention.”
The GP sent the man, who had a history of artery disease,
diabetes and high blood pressure, to have an overnight monitoring
assessment. The assessment revealed that the man had sleep
apnoea and a slow heart rate and his heart beat was intermittently
pausing for 7 seconds!
“Although 7 second cardiac pauses do not normally require
cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the patient’s cat rushed in, knowing
no better, to perform C(at)PR.”
The man's sleep apnoea was successfully treated and his cat has
since refrained from ‘saving’ him. It seems the cat was somehow
picking up on the patient’s ‘impending doom.’
Perhaps C(at)PR is the next big thing in animal detection of human
diseases?!
The article appeared in the April 2014 issue of the Australian
Veterinary Journal
05 Happy pets
Check out June's feel good video. We are especially fascinated by the cat in this clip. This video is a
nice reminder that a healthy pet equals a happy pet!