Signs Of Heart Disease In Dogs And Cats │Twin Trees Vet Talk (FREE VET ADVICE PODCAST)

[@TL....]

my 13.5 year old female chihuahua was sleeping on her back today around midnight and made sounds i never heard from her before, i called her name loud 3 times and nothing, then went up to her and shook her and flipped her on her stomach and she was limp and with her eyes open - i thought she had died, took about 10 seconds for her to give a sign of life and licked her lips and blinked - but she seemed completely out of it, dazed and confused the sounds she made while on her back sleeping = reminded me of my father when he took naps and made a "gasping for air" type sound because of his apnea i suspect she has tracheal collapse, as her coughing fits are the same as trach collapse videos i have seen here on youtube do you think its possible that because of the way she was sleeping on her back and her tracheal collapse that this all caused to her to faint ? (i.e. syncope) what should i do ? my vet is closed on sundays i had a cardiology consult done in late January this year and one of the things mentioned in the report said : " considering breed and age, the heart murmur is likely due to chronic valvular degenerative disease with cardiac enlargement. However, evidence to suggest the presence of congestive heart failure was not found. The cough is most likely related to primary airway disease ( tracheal collapse , chronic bronchitis ). However, additional airway diagnostics like fluoroscopy, bronchoscopy, a bronchoalveolar lavage or a trans-tracheal wash would be needed to evaluate for this definitively. "

[@TwinTreesVet]

@TL Wow that must have been absolutely terrifying! So did she have an echocardiogram performed by a cardiologist, or was this just a radiologist review of some chest x-rays that were taken at your family vet? It's really hard to say exactly what happened there. Was she normal once you woke her up? There are a few possibilities: 1) like you suspect, this could have been an airway problem (sometimes with underlying airway disease there can be moments of full airway obstruction) 2) it could have been a cardiovascular event (like TLOC-- but my understanding is that this usually happens when they are awake, or perhaps another event related to underlying heat disease), 3) it could have been a neurologic event (like a seizure or a TIA/ transient ischemic event... that is kind of a mini stroke), 4) It could have been something that would be technically considered normal on the spectrum of sleep (thee are phases of the sleep cycle where the individual has temporarily cataplexy (sleep paralysis). If she returned completely to normal immediately, I would still monitor her closely and get her checked when your vet opens. If you are noticing any other residual concerns (especially weakness, laboured breathing, depression, poor appetite... you know her best), then it wouldn't be a bad idea to swing her by the ER for a once-over. We always say "when in doubt, check it out." If her primary disease has to do with mitral valve degeneration, make sure to check out one of our latest videos on TEER! It is a new procedure that can really help with that:) Hope she is feeling better! Best of luck and please keep us posted. Thank you for visiting our channel! -Dr. Lopez

[@TL....]

@@TwinTreesVet thank you for your response i am monitoring her very closely and she seems to be her normal self i don't think she is a candidate for TEER (if she has mitral valve degeneration) - due to her age and heart issues not sure if she would wake up from the anesthesia or if she would survive the operation i will do some google research now on some of the things you mentioned (i.e. TLOC ) thanks again

[@TL....]

@@TwinTreesVet she had x-rays done at my regular veterianaians offices and those images were sent to a specialist in Oregon and he wrote a very lengthy 3 page report the report was sent to my vet on January 19, 2023 and from that date, my dog is on Pimobendan 0.5mg - twice a day

[@TL....]

" Cardiomegaly is suspected with possible left atrial and vetricular enlargement, based on the shape of the cardiac silhouette (VHS = 10.7, reference range: 8.9 - 11 )

[@TL....]

@@TwinTreesVet cardiologist report also mentions possibly considering Theophylline 20mg as a bronchodilator