Rosie’s Big Heart

By Kay Hisano | Dated October 31, 2024

Rosie is an 8 year old Cavoodle who had been coughing more frequently the past couple weeks, showing rapid breathing while resting, and had been getting tired more rapidly while on walks. Rosie’s owners brought her to Gordon vet to further investigate what was going on. 

During the exam, the vet detected a heart murmur, which had been noted in previous visits. A heart murmur indicates turbulent blood flow in the heart caused by abnormal blood flow. Given her history and the heart murmur, Rosie was admitted for a heart disease work up. 

The first step of a heart disease workup involves chest x-rays to be able to measure the size of the heart and examine the lungs. In Rosie’s case, her x-rays showed an enlarged heart and fluid in her lungs, a sign of congestive heart failure. Congestive heart failures occurs when the heart cannot keep up with the body’s demands, causing fluid to pool in the lungs. 

Luckily for Rosie, her condition is very manageable. She was placed on a diuretic medication to help drain the fluid from her chest, and another medication to support her heart function. While these medications cannot fix her heart disease, they will help to decrease the speed of heart failure and allow her to live a longer life. 

Heart disease is very common in dogs, especially CKCS and cavalier mixes. Unfortunately, heart murmurs are genetic so many lines of breeds have a predisposition.

Heart failure is an extension of heart disease, and symptoms include: coughing, exercise intolerance, and an increased resting respiration rate, just as was seen with Rosie. 

For dogs, a heart murmur is one of the first signs of heart disease, but does not immediately mean heart failure; if your vet hears a heart murmur, it should be investigated by a cardiologist who can perform an ultrasound of the heart to assess the level and cause disease. This informs the need for any medication to slow down the decline of the heart’s function and manage heart failure. 

Luckily for the lovely Rosie, she was doing fantastic at her recheck. She is taking her medication well, is no longer coughing and her exercise intolerance has improved. Rosie’s owners are monitoring her resting respiratory rate at home, as this monitors the effectiveness of her medication in keeping her chest free of fluid.