Aortic stenosis in Boxers

My 4 year old Boxer has aortic stenosis. He is quite well but seemed to faint/fit this afternoon. The vet says the murmur associated with the stenosis is a bit louder but there is no other sign of the condition worsening at this stage.

We are interested to know from other owners of dogs (Boxers or otherwise) with aortic stenosis if this is what we have been dreading for him, or could this be a one-off related to over exertion - he and our other Boxer were playing totally bonkers at the time!

He is well tonight, eating normally and loved his walk as usual.

Many thanks,
Lesley x.

What grade is the murmur?

Star has a grade 2 (heart tested at 15 months) and at 9 years now it has not changed nor caused any problems.

Fingers crossed it was a one off.

Hi, thanks for your reply. Yes, also grade 2. He is OK this morning. It wasn't pleasant to witness, so hope it doesn't happen again.
BW,
Lesley x.

You don't generally have symptoms with a grade 2 murmur. Maybe worth getting him retested at one of the boxer shows if you are worried That would be my first option as a cardiologists opinion would be more accurate than the day to day vet.

Yes, agreed. He has been seen by cardiologist and had echocardiogram.
BW,
Lesley x.

Looks like you are in the best hands then

Have a look at the articles by Dr Bruce cattanach of Steynmere boxers http://www.steynmere.com/AORTIC_STENOSIS1.html

Thanks, Murf, for the link. The articles are very interesting. We know exactly how he has AS, a long story to do with the breeder so best not discussed here. Obviously, my main concern is sudden death, and how to recognise the signs of worsening disease.
BW,
Lesley x.

One of my Boxers has Aortic Stenosis way back when it was first coming to light in the early '80's.

It was diagnosed after he had a couple of dizzy turns as a pup his litter brother Kapra also had a mild form but it never bothered him and he lived a perfectly normal life doing agility until I lost him at 12 from bloat.

Klan wasn't so lucky he had very little tolerance for free running so was mainly kept on the lead unless in an enclosed area. He attended Royal Dick Vet School in Edinburgh on a regular basis. He gradually needed more medication and when he was just over 3 his medication was going to have to be increased just to let him stay in his kennel so we decided to let him go as he had very little quality of life.

Over time he would collapse if he got too hot so bringing him into the house wasn't an option. The way we realised he was getting worse was the frequency of his collapses. I just sat with him until he came round and he was fine until the next one.

When I told my breeder she was marvelous and immediately took all her dogs to be checked luckily they came back clear. She offered to take Klan back but we wanted to keep him so she then offered us another pup from her next litter.

Thank you for your story, we too decided to keep our Boxer even though his AS was diagnosed at 12 weeks. He is a wonderful dog and until yesterday had shown no outward symptoms of AS. He is very active, and has had a happy day today. I guess we watch and wait.
BW,
Lesley x.