Looking for information from anyone who has had a dog with right sided heart failure?

Question

My dog is in the late stages of heart failure anyone been through this with their dog and what should I look for?

Answer 1

You should find very helpful informatin here> http://www.vetinfo4dogs.com/dogheart.html
there are several discussions of such cases..

Answer 2

Canine heart failure simply means that the muscles 'give out.' This is usually caused by one chamber or side of the heart being required to do more than it is physically able to do. It may be that excessive force is required to pump the blood through an area, and over time, the muscles fail. Also, in some cases, the volume of blood that must be pumped to keep up with other areas of the heart is more than the particular chamber can adapt itself to move, again leading to muscle failure. Unlike a heart attack in humans, cardiac failure in the dog is a slow insidious process that occurs over months or years. In these cases, once symptoms are noted, they will worsen over time until the animal is placed on treatment, dies, or is 'put to sleep.'

Symptoms: The result of mitral insufficiency is elevated blood pressure within both the lung field and right side of the heart. The symptoms caused by this condition are very predictable. When hypertension (higher than normal blood pressure) occurs within the lungs, fluid actually leaves the blood vessels and leaks into the tissues. The medical term used to describe 'fluid in the lungs' is 'pulmonary edema.' This causes the affected individual to cough in an attempt to clear the lungs of the fluid, just as you would do with a chest cold. The cough that typically occurs after exercise, excitement, or when the animal has first gotten up after sleeping is the first clinical symptom noted with mitral insufficiency. In most cases, this is controlled with diuretics that cause the animal to urinate more and thereby remove excess fluids from his lungs.

Answer 3

I'm so sorry to hear about your dog...Baby Boo has got it all down scientifically. Here's what she didn't say:

If the dog develops a cough or seems to choke and can't stop take him to the vet, his med's may need to be changed or added to. If he seems listless, just can't walk or get around well, call the vet, he may recommend an additional pill and/or recommend you bring your pet in. Eventually, time runs out for the baby and the med's can't keep up with the heart disease so have a deep discussion with your vet as to your role in the future for caring and for the possible time left for your pet. It can be from months to years depending on the heart disease progress.

Just a note: there is a Vet at the Univ. of Texas that performs open heart surgery on dogs but only if they are 20lbs or above.

Enjoy every moment you have with your dog!