When I took Boomer in for his annual a couple of years ago, the new vet made a lot of concerned faces while listening to his heart. So I said, “You know he’s x years old, right?”, and the vet said “Oh” and the look of concern went away.
My buddy is now 18 and two months, and gets the coughs occasionally, but nothing too serious. The tough little bastard may outlive me…
The other veterinarians in this thread have already mentioned these, but I’d like to do it again for emphasis:
Heart murmurs are fairly common in aging pets for the same reason heart problems are common in us as we get older. Namely, the heart is the only muscle that is always working, so it tends to wear out sooner. Yes, there are breed predispositions, but these are usually for early-in-life heart problems like Leffan’s dog has.
If your vet found a murmur that is strong enough to suggest further diagnostics and medical intervention, then it is a significant murmur. Don’t be terrified, but do be realistic.
Yes, many pets do reasonably well for long periods of time with their heart murmurs, either with medication or without. However, every case is different and there is no good way to predict how your pet’s disease may progress. That is why frequent monitoring is critical, to catch changes before they snowball.
Any heart problem carries the real, if small, risk of sudden decompensation. Be prepared with a copy of your recent medical records and the numbers to your local emergency clinic just in case.
Don’t ignore the little changes. Pets who are feeling the effects of their murmur often have the tiredness, coughing, wheezing, or discomfort as described by others in this thread. But, not every pet will have every symptom. Don’t ignore a change of appetite just because your pet isn’t coughing.
Best wishes to all of your family,
Pullet
Is that when she makes an ass of herself?
LOLOL My laptop has started skipping the ‘g’s’ unless I hit the key juuuuuuuuuust right. ‘rumpy’ = GRUMPY.
But yeah… she can be a little ass at times. Gotta love a little dog with an attitude!