heart attacks

Question
what can we do when a dog has a stroke or heart attack?

Answer
Abbie,

There are medications that can help with heart disease and strokes.  It really depends on how advanced the heart disease is and the severity of the attack.

A heart attack/stroke can fatally damage the heart muscle so that part of it basically dies.  A stroke occurs when blood flow is cut off from the brain resulting in brain damage.  Just like in humans there are different grades of heart attack and stroke, it just depends on the dogs body and how severe the damage is.

For cardiac patients medication like Enalapril is an option, as far as stroke, to my knowledge there isn't much except blood-thinners that can help that, but blood-thinners lower the blood pressure which is another problem all its own.


It's a hard situation when your pet is having cardiac problems because there is not cure and its really just a matter of how much time the heart has left.  Really consider if your pet is suffering and think about what is best for the pet.

I do sympathize with your problem, my grandmother's dog is slowly dying from cardiac disease and it's hard to tell her that there's nothing that can be done.  Unfortunately there are not any transplant options for pets at this time.

Take care,

Laura