heart murmur (trigger parson russell)

Hi i am hoping someone can help me a bit took trigger (1yr 4mths old) for his booster yesterday and we got told he has a heart murmur the vet said on a scaleof 1 to 6 it is a 2 i think i must f gone in to shock as i cant remeber much of what was said ashe is my baby. I have read a few sites but it is still scaring me. there was no mentin of him having test etc i now she sai it was not to bad at the moment as she could just make it out but is there anything i could do to help him now before it gets to bad, i as thinking it might be a good idea for him to lose a bit weight as inow this can put a strain on the heart but is there any thing else you guys now tht would be good as well. here is apic of my baby for anone who not seen him.

I wouldn't worry on a grade 2 murmur. My Boxer had one and you wouldn't have known it. Yes good idea to keep him on the lean side so as not to over work the heart and, of course, keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't degrade but really I wouldn't worry at all. I never did with Harvey!
Becky

Aww, bless.

As Becky says, you shouldn't worry too much over a mild heart murmur. My old boy has one too. The vet told me that we just have to listen for coughing - if he starts coughing regularly it may be time to start on some medicine, but that otherwise just to treat him as normal.

I have a Cavalier with a Grade three heart murmur & he is on medication. I was discussing heart murmurs with one of the younger vets in the practice & she suggested giving him Co Enzyme Q10 & Vitamin E, he is already getting these so now they are vet approved

Thats useful to know

Can I ask how much of each you give your cavalier? (and how much he weighs so I can try & work out how much to give a bc).

My old JRT girl had a heart murmur, all her life! She wasn't on medication till the final year of her life, and this was for general heart problems as she had 'aquired' some more along the rails of time, not generally related to her murmur thought our vet said.
I really wouldn't fret TOO much.

Hi Sam, you must be very worried...some puppies are born with heart murmurs which they grow out of, there are a number of different causes some age related.


Amy was diagnosed with a grade 2 when she 10/11 and I was so shocked and thought she may not live long
She managed fine for a couple of years and as the condition progressed was prescribed Vasotop 1.25 ACE inhibitors. This medication was fantastic and returned her to her old self. She lived to the age of 16.

Although dogs do vary I would say if you keep an eye on Trigger and have him regularly checked at the vets, have medication as and when necessary he should be ok for quite a number of years .

So sorry to hear this, don't know anything about it, but it appears a grade 2 is not too much of a problem, still a worry for you, but I'm sure he'll be fine and if it gets worse the vet will put him on suitable medication. Good idea to keep an eye on the weight, but to me he doesn't look overweight at all in that lovely pic of him, he looks just fine, so don't starve him!! Check with your vet next time you go there and get him weighed and if the vet said he's fine just keep him at that weight, you mustn't go all drastic and put him on a diet until you've got his weight checked out, he sure does look fine to me. All the best, try not to worry too much.

thank you all so much for your kind words i feel much better talking to you guys, it is always a shock to be told your doglet has a problem but i feel better from hearing from you. I have got trigger booked in for a weigt check next week he does look ok to me he was just under 10kg last time he was weighted and they said he was fine but will get it checked to besafe.

thanks again guys you made feel happier.

sam

The Co Enzyme is one tablet a day & he gets one capsule of Vit E the dose is the same for humans so it doesn't need to be altered for the sign of the dog. KC gets his Co Enzyme with his heart meds & his Vit E on his food. He weighs just under 10 kgs.