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The cardiovascular system of a dog is as vulnerable as that of a human. All unfavorable factors of a physiological and psychological nature, stress, environmentally unfavorable living environment, etc. - all this has a detrimental effect on the condition of the heart and blood vessels of our pets.
Cardiomegaly in dogs
Our pets, and especially dogs, are so loved that they are part of the family after all. That's why we always want them to be and live the best life possible by buying them good food, a good bed to sleep in and giving them all the long walks and much more. However, sometimes there are things beyond our control, such as illness or, in this case, cardiomegaly in dogs.
Cardiomegaly is a problem that causes a dog's heart to enlarge, which can lead to a number of problems if not addressed as soon as possible. If you suspect your dog is sick and want to know how to help, don't miss this article about the causes and treatment of cardiomegaly in dogs.
Types of heart failure
Chronic heart failure develops slowly. Often its development occurs against the background of infectious diseases.
Symptoms of the chronic form are often invisible; the pet only has a cough, which the owner does not pay attention to.
Acute heart failure progresses quickly, sometimes within hours or even minutes.
The acute form can lead to the immediate development of pulmonary edema, the symptoms of which are blood from the mouth and nose, and a severe cough.
Why do dogs' hearts get enlarged?
Enlarged heart in dogs is not a disease in itself, but it is a condition caused by other health problems, such as:
- Hypertension: that is, high blood pressure, which means that the blood supply pressure is constantly working.
- Heartworms: This is a parasitic disease. This occurs when a worm called Dirofilaria immitis filters into a dog's body through the blood supply and ends up parasitizing our pet's heart and lungs. As a result, the dog's heart pumps faster because it is forced to exert effort to continue functioning normally.
- Valvular heart diseases are all those diseases that affect the heart valves, either by dilating or contracting them.
After reading the above, we can conclude that cardiomegaly occurs for two main reasons:
- With dilatation: This usually occurs when the heart muscle weakens. In these cases, dogs have more blood than their heart can pump, which ultimately causes the dog's heart to grow.
- In Ventricular Hypertrophy: In these cases, the heart valve of dogs is damaged or mutated, which cannot function properly, causing the blood volume in the heart to be overloaded and hence the heart ends up growing in size.
Both options can cause serious health problems and can cause heart failure. Therefore, if there is any abnormality in our pet, we must urgently contact a veterinarian.
Endocarditis
Endocarditis is damage to the cardiac endocardium due to severe infectious diseases or poisoning of the dog’s body with poisons or waste products of parasites in the animal’s intestines.
If the cause of endocarditis is an infection, then the dog experiences severe hyperthermia and signs of heart failure - shortness of breath, heart murmurs, weakening of the heartbeat, against which pulmonary edema may develop, which can lead to the death of the animal.
In the case of endocarditis, it is important for the doctor to decide how to support the dog’s heart during illness and prescribe adequate therapy. At the same time, treatment of pathologies affecting the functioning of the heart is carried out.
What are the symptoms of cardiomegaly in dogs?
The main symptoms of cardiomegaly in dogs are:
- Fatigue and Malaise: Like any other ailment, when something goes wrong in our pet, the first thing we notice is fatigue and malaise.
- Difficulty breathing: especially after running or doing exercises, because the heart, which is larger than normal size, stops working normally.
- Dizziness: Usually occurs when blood does not reach the brain. In the case of cardiomegaly in dogs, this can happen because as the heart expands, the valves can narrow due to the pressure of the organ constantly growing.
- Irregular heartbeats: If the heart is not working properly, the heartbeat will also not be normal. Heart Tightness: This can happen if your dog's problem is not resolved quickly.
- Lung wheeze: This occurs over the long term as our pet's lungs begin to congest.
- Cough: For the same reason as before, when cardiomegaly has advanced enough in our animal to allow the lungs to descend, the dog begins to cough frequently because he cannot breathe properly.
Therefore, it is important to pay attention to these types of signals that our pet can give us. Before any abnormality you discover in your dog, the best thing to do is go to the veterinarian.
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction is a dangerous disease, as a result of which the blood supply to any part of the myocardium is stopped and after that it dies. The consequence of this pathology is a disruption of the functioning of the entire body, up to the death of the dog.
The clinical picture of a heart attack is characterized by severe pain in the chest area, panic in the dog, and a sharp change in the color of the mucous membranes. The prognosis for survival in dogs with a heart attack depends on the size of the affected area of the myocardium, the age and general condition of the animal.
How to detect cardiomegaly in dogs
When the vet suspects that our dog may be suffering from cardiomegaly, he will perform a series of tests which consist of:
- Ultrasound: Although this is one of the most common tests, it is not the most reliable. With this test you can see if a dog's heart is larger than normal. But only the next test fully confirms this.
- Electrocardiogram (ECG): With this test, you can detect and interpret the electrical impulses of an animal's heart, providing information about the health and function of the heart.
According to recent research, the early stages of this condition cannot be detected, but in later stages they can be easily seen on an electrocardiogram. Hence one of the main problems: it is difficult to detect cardiomegaly in the early stages, which can pose a danger to the animal if the dog's heart continues to grow without stopping.
Diagnostics
The dog handler, having identified a change in the pet’s behavior, seeks veterinary help. The owner will be required to provide information about exercise, diet, when and what vaccines were vaccinated. Information about previous diseases and surgical operations is important. The diagnostician collects anamnesis and performs the following recognition techniques:
- Auscultation of the chest cavity using a stethoscope to detect arrhythmia and cardiac murmurs.
- X-ray of the heart. Pay attention to the size of the organ, hypertrophied blood vessels, and the presence of congestion in the lungs.
- Taking an electrocardiogram to detect disturbances in the rhythm of heart contractions.
- Ultrasound.
- Standard blood test to diagnose concomitant diseases.
Treatment of cardiomegaly in dogs
If your dog's heart is growing, don't worry because once it is detected, there is a treatment for it. However, this treatment will vary depending on the disease being caused.
Typically, along with treatment for the condition that causes cardiomegaly, diuretics are prescribed to reduce inflammation in the dog's heart. Because the heart is very delicate, we do not recommend trying to reduce inflammation with home remedies, as depending on the dog's illness, we may make the situation worse.
In any case, your veterinarian will always recommend using home remedies along with the rest of the medication your pet needs.
Diagnosis and treatment
Heart failure in dogs requires professional diagnosis by a veterinary cardiologist. To clarify the diagnosis, the doctor may prescribe blood and urine tests, chest x-rays, ECG, and ultrasound of the heart.
Treatment should be carried out under the constant supervision of a veterinary cardiologist.
Drug therapy includes:
- Diuretics to remove excess fluid, relieve swelling and relieve the cardiovascular system.
- ACE inhibitors, which dilate blood vessels and reduce the load on the heart.
- Positive inotropes to normalize the heart rate.
In rare cases, to relieve internal swelling, the doctor may prescribe pumping out excess fluid. The procedure is performed with a sterile needle under local anesthesia.
During therapy, the doctor may recommend:
- reduce physical activity;
- eliminate salt consumption;
- daily measure and record in a diary the dog’s pulse and breathing rate;
- Take your dog to the doctor regularly.
General information
Note that heart pathologies in dogs proceed a little differently than if we compare animals with humans. In many breeds, the natural susceptibility to these diseases is noticeably reduced, but this does not completely exclude the possibility of developing the disease.
Interestingly, dogs practically do not suffer from coronary artery pathologies. The only exception is overly well-fed pets, whose owners too often delight their dogs with tasty, fatty, but monstrously harmful food (but even in these cases, the coronary arteries often remain normal, to the envy of people with cardiovascular pathologies).
But this does not mean that dogs do not suffer from heart failure, heart attacks, congenital and acquired heart defects, endometritis, pericarditis and myocarditis... The main danger of any heart pathology is directly related to its main function - timely delivery of oxygen and nutrients. If something is wrong with the “fiery engine,” the whole body suffers.
Despite the dangers, many dogs can live their entire lives with minor heart defects without developing any signs of the disease. But you shouldn’t delude yourself: regardless of the presence of symptoms, the disease continues to develop slowly.
Sometimes the owners begin to notice its manifestations gradually, over the course of several years, and sometimes something in the dog seems to “break”, and your pet, who recently ran happily, begins to breathe heavily and hoarsely, all visible mucous membranes and even skin.
Prevention of heart failure
Dogs of all breeds at risk should be regularly examined by a cardiologist. This is especially true for dwarf dogs. They are more emotionally sensitive and subject to frequent stress. Also, observation will not harm animals older than 6-8 years and anyone who has any problems with the cardiovascular system.
A loving and caring owner knows well the character of his pet, his habits and norms of behavior. Any deviations in health status will be immediately visible and understandable. You should not try to diagnose and treat the dog yourself. Only a qualified veterinarian can help an animal live a long and fulfilling life.
Etiology of the disease
The causes of heart failure are various pathologies of the cardiovascular system: myocarditis, pericarditis, congenital defects, arterial hypertension, cardiosclerosis, myocardial infarction, some types of helminthiases, etc. The main danger is congestion in the animal’s heart. They cause irreversible changes in the myocardium and severe complications.
There are breeds that are predisposed to heart disease: boxers, spaniels, fox terriers, schnauzers, poodles, shepherd dogs, Dobermans, collies, English bulldogs, almost all small breeds, St. Bernards, Samoyeds, Mastinos, Newfoundlands. Most representatives of these species develop heart failure at different ages.
There are acute and chronic heart failure in dogs. An acute condition occurs more often against the background of an underlying disease. After treatment, the pathology can be eliminated. The chronic course of the disease is characterized by periodicity, when exacerbations are replaced by remission at certain intervals.
