Cardiac Disease in Dogs and Cats

Authored by Kat Hull

Cardiac disease is a common disorder seen in dogs and cats. In fact, heart conditions affect around 10% of dogs and 15% of cats. In this article we deep dive into what to keep an eye out for relating to heart issues and how we can support you should you pet require it.

 

Common Symptoms of Heart Disease in Cats & Dogs are:

  • Heart murmur and/or arrythmia on physical exam

  • Coughing

  • Increased breathing rate or effort

  • Exercise intolerance

  • Fainting/collapse

It is important to remember that often your pet will not show any symptoms of a heart problem until the heart is in later stages of disease and starting to fail. This is why it is important that we investigate heart murmurs we hear in otherwise healthy pets, so that we can start treatment in the early stages. This will help support the heart and prolong the time until the heart starts to fail. These murmurs are most often picked up on routine examinations, such as during a vaccination consult.

 

What Tools Do We Use to Assess Heart Disease?

  • Chest X-rays: Allow us to image the lungs and the heart. We check for heart enlargement, assess for concurrent lung disease and look for signs of congestive heart failure.

  • Cardiac Ultrasound (Echo): With this we can get a more detailed view of the heart chambers, heart valves and blood flow. Allowing us to diagnose the condition that is causing the problem. We can also assess for risk factors such as blood clots.

  • ECG (Electrocardiography): to assess the electrical activity and rhythm of the heart.

  • Blood work: This helps us identify any underlying or concurrent diseases. It is also important to assess your pet’s kidney and electrolyte parameters when considering treatments such as diuretics for congestive heart failure.

  • Blood pressure: We check your pet’s blood pressure with a small inflatable cuff placed around their paw or tail.

We use these tools to identify exactly what the problem is. From there, we can tailor our treatment appropriately to each individual patient, depending on the type and stage of disease, and your pets’ clinical symptoms.

 
 

4 Most Common Heart Conditions:

  1. Mitral Valve Disease: This is the most common cardiac disease in dogs. It is a degenerative disease that affects the mitral valve of heart, and gradually leads to compromised heart function and heart failure. It is usually seen in smaller breeds of dog, and is particularly common in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Dachshunds and Poodles. It is a disease that worsens over time, but caught in the earlier stages there are steps we can take to help delay the progression of this disease.

  2. Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM): 15% of all cats have HCM. Maine coons, Ragdolls, British Shorthairs and Norwegian forest cats are overrepresented, but it can affect any breed. In this disease the muscular wall of the heart becomes too thick, impairing heart function. Cats are very good at compensating for their heart disease and often show no obvious signs of a problem until they suddenly go into congestive heart failure, or suffer an aortic thromboembolism due to a blood clot from the heart. This is why it is so important for us to try and diagnose these cats early, so we can monitor them closely for signs the heart is beginning to fail and also take steps to reduce their risk of clots.

3. Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM): Can occur in both cats and dogs but is most common in larger breeds of dog. It affects Dobermann Pinschers more than any other breed. It is a disorder of the heart muscle, where the muscular wall of the heart weakens and gradually thins and stretches. This leads to dilation of the hearts chambers and a reduced ability to pump blood around the body. It ultimately leads to congestive heart failure, but can also cause heart arrythmias and occasionally sudden death. The earlier the disease is diagnosed, the earlier treatment can be initiated, which can help slow disease progression. We recommend screening Dobermanns for this disease starting from around 2 years of age.

4. Congenital Heart Disease: This is where a heart defect is present at birth. These are usually picked up in puppies and kittens, but sometimes can go undetected for many years. The most common heart defects in dogs are patent ductus arteriosus, subaortic stenosis, pulmonic stenosis and ventricular septal defects. Congenital heart disease is very uncommon in cats, but when it does occur they more commonly get atrial and ventricular septal defects and defects with the heart valves. This is one of the reasons why it is so important for us to do a thorough physical exam and listen closely to the heart when we meet your new pets for the first time.

One of the main signs of congestive heart failure is an increased breathing rate and effort. The normal breathing rate for dogs and cats is usually less than 30 breaths per minute (but is often much lower than this). This is a quick and easy thing to assess at home. Count how many breaths they take over 60 seconds whilst they are resting (not panting or purring!). It is good to get into the habit of doing this from time to time. It will allow you to track any gradual increases in breathing rate and also help you identify when their breathing is different to normal. If your pet is diagnosed with heart disease this is something we will get you to monitor at home.

 

I’m concerned about my Cat or Dog… What now?

We now have the ability to perform in-house cardiac work ups on any of our patients presenting with signs of heart disease. We can investigate conditions such as heart murmurs or irregular rhythms and treat the underlying disease.

If you have any concerns that your pet may be exhibiting signs of a heart condition or if you know your pet has a heart murmur or arrythmia and would like to get this investigated, please contact us:

Dog Wellness, Cat WellnessJames Hornercardiac disease