Just as the human heart works hard to keep us alive, the same can be said for your pet’s heart. Through thousands of contractions every day, your pet’s heart works to deliver blood and oxygen throughout the body.
If you’ve recently visited our animal hospital near Bridgeport, chances are high that we listened to your pet’s heartbeat. Ideally, we will hear a “lub and dub” sound when listening to the heart muscle. In the case that we hear something irregular, your pet may need cat or dog heart murmur treatment. Before you panic, here’s some helpful information about heart murmurs in pets and how to treat them.
What Is a Heart Murmur?
Keep in mind that “heart murmur” refers to the sound, not a particular disease that your pet may or may not have. In some cases, a murmur can be an isolated incident, and other times, it can be a sign pointing to an underlying health concern.
There are different types of murmurs that exist. Some are referred to as “flow” or “innocent” murmurs, meaning your pet can continue to live a happy and healthy life. It’s common for these abnormal heart sounds to show up in puppies or kittens who are going through a growth spurt.
Other murmurs might be consistent and more serious. It’s up to our team to help find the underlying cause of the murmur and create a custom treatment plan for your pet. We use diagnostic testing and physical examination to help determine how the murmur will impact your pet’s quality of life.
What Comes Next?
If your cat or dog was diagnosed with a heart murmur, we will thoroughly inspect their physical health to see if we can find any underlying issues. We will also go through a series of testing to find out as much as we can about how our veterinary care can help improve your pet’s quality of life. Examples of tests include X-rays, blood pressure measurements, blood tests, or an electrocardiogram (EKG).
If necessary, we will treat your pet immediately. Others may not require immediate treatment.
Contact Us to Schedule an Appointment!
It is during regular checkups that we can detect any potential heart murmurs. Make sure to schedule your pet’s annual checkup if you haven’t already done so! Get in touch with us at Urban PetRx by calling us at 773.801.0771.
