Heart murmur

[Jen]

Hi. Maggie just came back from vet appt. & Dr thinks she has a heart murmur. I haven’t dealt with this before and will be doing research. Do any of your babies have this ? Could the meds for aiha contribute to or cause this ? I’m very bummed as I feel like Maggie keeps getting dealt one issue after another . Overall she seems well but of course I’m worried .
Thanks
Jen & Maggie

[Tamara]

Hi Jen, a heart murmur can be a side effect of the drugs, I think it’s the prednisone if I remember correctly. Ashki had a bit of a heart murmur early on when he was on a high dose of pred. I haven’t asked about it since because they assured me it was drug related and would resolve. I really hope that is what is going on with Maggie too. Sending you both big hugs —
tamara and ashki

[Vally]

Jen, I think as Tamara said, prednisone (of course!) can cause a heart murmur, but I’m sure I’ve read, although I now can’t find it, that as with a lot of side effects, it can resolve itself as the prednisone is reduced. Prednisone affects the muscles and the heart is a muscle.

Vally & Bingo

[admin]

Hi Jen

Yes it could be a side effect of the meds, which often disappears when stopped, or it can be caused by the anemia itself. Here is a good article which explains it well & some diagrams. Anemia is mentioned in the extracardiac section.
http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pet-health-information/article/animal-health/heart-murmurs-in-dogs/3912

Anemia can cause a “hemic murmur” http://www.provet.co.uk/equinecardiology/5a5a399.htm

I used to nurse on a cardiac ward – murmurs are far more serious in people than in dogs! Murmurs are pretty common & often not significant in dogs either. Worzel has had a heart murmur due to mitral valve prolapse (a leaky valve) for over 5 years (long before diagnosis) which is treated with pimobendane which stops him having tachycardia (fast heartbeat) & prilactone to prevent his heart muscle from fibrosing. Our vet did an ECG & specialised ultrasound to look at the valve & the blood flow. After only 24 hours drug treatment, he felt much better! Murmurs don’t always need treatment though.

Ollie also has a murmur which doesn’t need treating at all as he has no symptoms. Our previous dog also had an untreated murmur, so no need to worry – it’s not always a problem. Some dog breeds are more prone to murmurs than others, for example our greyhounds & their cross breeds.

So Jen, don’t worry too much, please. Is your vet planning on doing more tests? An ultrasound would be the best way to see what’s going on.

Hope that information helps
Love & hugs
Sheena, Worzel & Ollie xxxxx

[Jen]

I feel a little better knowing others have dealt with this and it can be something minor. Thanks for the article Sheena. The vet mentioned it maybe due to the meds but really didn’t seem too concerned about it at this point. He wants to conduct an ECG in future to see what is going on & causing it. He also mentioned maybe from bacteria since her immune system has been suppressed- she is very prone to yeast infections & other bacterial infections in her ears (common cocker spaniel ears) and have been battling infections & skin allergies for past five years. I’ve noticed past few weeks that her breathing seems more labored with some noises while she’s resting. I discussed w vet but he thought side effect if pred now I wonder is it because murmur. She has gained 8lbs since aiha diagnosis so not sure if that contributes to breathing? Maybe she should be except sizing more?
I’m praying for an elevated HCT after this last CBC, I should get results today. She also had large cyst in her ear removed ( non surgical) that was getting bigger & bigger. I will get results of biopsy Tuesday. It’s so worrisome having so many issues & what ifs. Hoping for some good news!!!! Sorry to ramble on!

Jen & Maggie

[admin]

Oh Jen

Poor Maggie really has had a lot going on, bless her. And you are certainly not rambling, just worrying like the rest of us do!

My personal experience with heart murmurs in dogs is that they often get a very fast heartbeat (Worzel’s was up to a worrying 200 beats per minute) and they are panicky, shaky & clingy. They can also have fainting attacks, which happened to our lovely boy. He was very scared. Worzel did not have a cough, but that can be a symptom too, although it can also mean other things.

I think it’s far more likely to be the pred side effects causing the weight gain & heavy, faster, noisy breathing. That was pretty much how it affected Worzel & most of the dogs on here.
https://www.secondchanceaihadogs.com/AIHA_Terms/prednisone/
It will pass when you can start slowly lowering the dose & you will be amazed at how quickly they bounce back! I am crossing everything for a rise in HCT – that would be a weight off your mind. And if your vet is not particularly concerned about the murmur, that’s good news. You would never believe Worzel has had all these problems when he runs like the wind up the garden with a big grin on his face – he’s 14 at least.

You wrote except sizing – is that auto-correct for exercising? If so, exercise should be severely restricted. They suffer from a side effect of the pred called muscular atrophy (shrinkage) & can do themselves some real damage such as tendon & ligament injury if they over exert themselves. Exercise can be resumed when they regain their muscle mass. The anaemia also means they don’t have as much oxygen going around their system as they should (hence the panting as they try to get more air) & again, just let them potter around a bit – nice & gently does it!

Let us know how Maggie’s cyst biopsy turns out – fingers crossed it will be benign & nothing to worry about. In the meantime, give Maggie a huge cuddle from us
Love Sheena & the murmur boys! xxxxx

[Jen]

Oops- excersizing . Darn auto correct on this phone ! I really only take her for quick walks so she gets out of the yard to explore for a bit but I will make sure to keep exercise to a minimum until reducing meds. I will keep you posted on HCT & biopsy results. Thanks for easing my mind.

[admin]

Jen, the exercise you are doing with the walking is just fine. You are doing everything perfectly. It’s when they run around like loonies, over-stretching & straining, you need to stop them going too mad. I had a hell of a job stopping you-know-who when he started to get a bit better because he loves to run really fast!
Sheena, You-know-who & Lazy bones xxxxx