Heart problem?

Question
Hi,

I have 3 young guinea pigs,about 22 weeks old.
One of my females developed a lump under her chin, which turned out to be an abcess, she went in for surgery at our vets, as they advised it better she went under anasthetic. I had problems after surgery with her eating etc; but nursed her back to health, but noticed she was breathing heavily (didn't notice before surgery), I was told it was a respitory infection.she was put on Baytril 0.5mg once a day for 5 days, which didn't seem to do anything but put her off food and have runny poop. Had to nurse her back to eating again. She went back to the vets, who put her on the same dose of baytril but for two weeks,she has just finished the course of treatment, which this time didn't put her off her food, and she didn't get runny poo.She seems fine in herself now But she is still breathing heavier than the other pigs, I can hear clicking sometimes when she breathes.
I was wondering if this could be her heart? (she is also a plump pig, thought she was pregnant at one point)The vet said they hadn't heard of heart problems in guinea pigs before (i have read on the internet that this is a normal comment from a vet). Could you give me some advice, she is such a sweetie I would hate to lose her, The vet said if this 2 week course didn't help and then she went down hill, we would have to think about putting her to sleep. I really don't want that to happen.
Thankyou,
paula lawson

Answer
Hello Paula,

It does sound as if she may have a heart problem. Some of the signs of poor circulation are labored breathing and noisy breathing. Signs also seem to follow a diagnosis of a URI (Upper Respiratory Infection). All of these she has had. Some others to watch for are droopy eyelids, swollen limbs, weight loss, blue lips (if she is pink skinned), and lethargy. The vet can check for a heart murmur and take an x-ray to see if her heart appears swollen (a healthy pig of same age, gender, and size can be used as a comparison). The vet should also take a lung x-ray to check for fluid. Common treatments include Furosemide, Enalapril, and Fortekor. You should also have your vet check for tumors just in case. While heart disease can't be cured, it can be monitored and controlled and she can live a good deal longer with treatment for it. I hope your piggy gets through this and I wish you both the best of luck. The following link is the best and most detailed I could find about heart disease and its treatments. It may be useful to print out and take with you to the vet.

http://www.guinealynx.info/forums/viewtopic.php?p=126906#126906

-kkat
www.geocities.com/abyssinianguineapigs