General anesthetic and heart murmers in cats?

Question

My cat is having a general anesthetic in the morning at the vets but I have been told they may be complications because he has a heart murmer. He is only 2 1/2 and is generally fit. He is having broken teeth removed as they think he may of been clipped by a car. What are the complications and risks and whats the chances of the worse happening? Thanks x

Answer 1

depending on how severe the murmur, your vet should have recommended a cardiac workup to determine if it is a functional murmur or one to be concerned about. with cats you never know. cardiomyopathy is one of the top killers in cats and most of the time the owners are not aware of the disease being present in their cat. i would hold off on anesthesia until consulting with a cardiologist. better to be safe than sorry.

Answer 2

The heart murmurs come and can go away in cats. Two of mine had murmurs when they were neutered, but both didn't have a murmur when they went in a year or two later for something else (tooth removal and pancreatitis I believe it was). Since there are over 100 different types of murmurs, the complications vary. In everyday life sometimes they'll say don't let the cat run around till it's panting. But usually the murmur only is of concern when the animal is knocked out for an operation--but then they DO have someone monitoring the breathing and heartbeat of the cat at all times during that.