What can you tell me about grade 3 heart murmurs in dogs?

Question

Our precious puppy will have an echocardiogram on Monday to get a better picture of what's happening with her heart. I could see on the xray that her heart looks quite enlarged. She's ten months old. She was having terrible breathing problems and spent the night in the hospital getting diuretics to clear the fluid from her chest.

Answer 1

Well as a Dobe breeder a know a little about heart murmurs. Level 1 and 2 are what one calls a puppy murmur which normally goes away with no problem. Level 4 usually means a very short live span. (DCM causes a 4). Level 3, sorry to say is not a good thing but it really depends on what is causing the murmur and if was a birth defect.
Hope you get some good news.

Answer 2

Here you go maybe this will help you........
Grade 1 – a very soft murmur that can only be detected after very careful auscultation – the lowest intensity that can be heard

Grade 2 – a soft murmur that is readily evident (restricted to a localized area)

Grade 3 – a moderately intense murmur not associated with a palpable precordial thrill (vibration) – immediately audible when auscultation begins

Grade 4 – a loud murmur; a palpable precordial thrill is not present or is intermittent

Grade 5 – a loud cardiac murmur associated with a palpable precordial thrill; the murmur is not audible when the stethoscope is lifted from the chest wall

Grade 6 – a loud cardiac murmur associated with a palpable precordial thrill; the murmur is audible even when the stethoscope is lifted from the chest wall

Answer 3

Usually a grade 3 murmur isn't that bad unless there are underling conditions to the murmur. A murmur can be sever things. It could be just a small swooshing of the valve or it could be a defect that will never get better and then their is the micro valve murmur that is really bad. Until the echo is done you and your vet have no way of knowing which of the problems your puppy has.

I wish you and your pup all the very best.