What To Do About Dog Heart Murmur Symptoms

It is vital to share any concerns or questions that you may have with your veterinarian especially when it comes to your dog's physical condition and lifestyle.

If you are not comfortable with a diagnosis from your general veterinarian, you should consider seeking out a specialist for your dog. You could either go to a veterinary cardiologist or an internist. These vets have specialized training and probably have vast experience in these problems and other issues that your dog may have.

If your dog has a heart murmur, this is indicative that there is an abnormal amount of blood flow within your dog's heart. This can either be due to a change in the heart valves and their function or a variety of other potential reasons. There may be an abnormal communication between the left and the right side of the dog's heart and this can result in having a dog heart murmur. There may be numerous reasons for this. They may be either congenital or acquired. This means that the heart was affected after the dog was born due to disease or age.

Dog heart murmur symptoms may involve the following: bluish tinge to the gums or tongue, poor exercise ability, coughing, labored breathing and even fainting. Some of these symptoms would suggest that your pup may have other health issues. However, the symptoms are similar between benign heart murmurs and those that are more severe in nature. If you are at all concerned about your canine's health, you should consult your veterinarian. A couple of these symptoms may be overlooked which would include poor exercise ability and a bluish tinge to the gums. If you think that your dog has any dog heart murmur symptoms, canine heart disease or the development of congestive heart failure, immediately contact your vet for a positive diagnosis.

There are certain symptoms that indicate your dog may have serious health problems. The best way to identify the source and severity of a dog's heart murmur is to have your dog thoroughly checked out by a veterinarian. However, additional testing may be necessary which may include a heart ultrasound, EKG, blood testing and chest x-rays. The ultrasound may be particularly beneficial because your veterinarian can measure the extent of your dog's heart murmur. It will define whatever the cause of the underlying heart disease may be. It is vitally important to have the cause of your dog's heart condition diagnosed because there are some cases where heart murmurs are treatable either by medication or surgery.

Of course, you have to find out beforehand just how expensive various treatments may be so you won't be surprised by an abnormally high vet bill. You may be surprised at the prices some vets may charge.

If your dog has a congenital heart murmur, surgery may be a viable solution to eliminate the problems it creates. On the other hand, specific types of medication may be necessary because non congenital heart murmurs are often an underlying symptom of congestive heart failure in dogs. You cannot be sure about which treatment is going to be the right path to proceed with until you have consulted the right veterinarian and received advice regarding the health of your dog. You should never leave symptoms like these to chance, because not every heart murmur is benign, and serious changes could be occurring in your dog's heart.