mvd im scared to ask

I have been consumed with ella's sm that I stopped reading cavalierhealth about mvd. I looked at symptoms and I don't think she has it but I know the answer will be to go ahead and get her checked out. When ella was a little over a year her vet said something about her heart but said it was not really a murmer but something we will need to keep an eye on. I figured that she gets regular check ups and he has not said anything again and ella is now 4.

Her vet is great but I noticed the symptoms of sm and when he said to continue to monitor, I begged him to send me to a neurologist. Now, I don't have much money but ella's health is everything to me. Should I have a cardiologist check her out? Is that extremely expensive? Diagnosing her sm and surgery along with medication is but I am sure it is not nearly as costly to diagnose mvd compared to an mri for sm.

I worry a lot but I read someone post about coughing which ella has done. Maybe I will read some more but if she has mvd, it will be a lot to take in this year since she is just 4.

Thanks,
A worried, overprotective mother,
Anne

I see you are from Charlotte. I assume that is North Carolina. If so, go to http://cavalierhealth.org/health_clinics.htm and in Table 1 scroll to NC and see what heart clinics are coming up in the next couple of months. I see in Dr. Brown will have a clinic in Greensboro in August and in Raleigh in September. Take Ella to either clinic and have Dr. Brown examine her. The fee will be $40.00 at either clinic.

Thanks Rod! You are awesome! I am sure it will be worth it. Let's hope it's just me being me :xfngr:

That would be a pretty young age for a cavalier to be coughing from heart problems (eg to be so far along with MVD that she'd be in congestive heart failure). I think your vet would long since have picked up a murmur if this were the case as the murmur tends to get to a very high grade and be very obvious well before the dog starts having signs like coughing. A lot of dogs cough now and then; a dog with CHF coughs because its heart is so overenlarged from compensating for the murmur that it presses up against the lungs.

That said because virtually every cavalier will eventually get MVD it is well worth having a cardio check at a low cost clinic as suggested, so that you can track if and when murmurs appear and how it progresses. Keep in mind many cavaliers live years and years with murmurs, too.

I thought if the vet mentioned it before he would have noticed if there was a big change. I still will go to see the cardiologist rod suggested just to keep it monitored. I do need to read up on mvd because I have a friend that has it and is interested. Of course he is still living without medication but it never hurts to get her checked. ThanksS