• If you're a past member of the board, but can't recall your password any more, you don't need to set up a new account (unless you wish to). As long as you recall your old login name, you can log in with that user name then select 'forgot password' and the board will email you at your registration email, to let you reset your password.

Congestive Heart Failure

S

sramirez

Well-known member
I've just sat up all night with my Sophie - who was panting so hard most of the night. The vet says it's probably the start of congestive heart and started her on IV Lasix.

I lost my last rescue boy to MVD - so hearing the congestive heart wasn't exactly comforting to me.

Keep us in your thoughts today - thanx.

Sheri
 
Sorry to hear that Sheri. We'll keep you in our thoughts. It's not news anybody likes to hear but at least Sophie has you to look after her. :flwr:
 
We find the only way to stop Cailean panting at night is to keep the window open and a fan going. He has rapid onset MVD, but has panted like crazy for years.

As he sleeps in our bedroom, we freeze, but that doesn't matter.

Thinking of you.
 
Oh Misty I had to laugh - I still have fans going in my bedroom too!! And the windows have been open, but yesterday and today are suppose to be record high temps, so the A/C has come back on!! Sophie has a little orange fan that blows right in front of her - she definitely loves the fans going in the house and usually finds one to lay right in front of.

I'm hoping the Lasix helps pull off some of the edema. I'm also hoping she doesn't have MVD - my other rescue cavalier had it when he came to us (Grade 3). It was a sad, bad disease to deal with, but luckily when it was his "time to go to the Rainbow Bridge" he went very quickly. Both of these cavaliers are from England, which is very unusual since they weren't related at all.

Hopefully the new diuretics will help her drop some much needed weight as well - nothing I have done in the past 4 months has helped drop any weight off of her which seemed very unusual to me.

Thanx for thinking of us this week!

Sheri
 
I hope the diuretics help too ... I'm sure they will.

I can't get any weight off Cailean unfortunately - in fact he's put on about 1 pound in a couple of months :(.
 
Hope the heat has eased and you are all more comfortable and feeling better. :flwr:
 
Sheri, we're hoping the medication helps Sophie feel better. Thinking of you, too, it's so worying when they're not well. :flwr:
 
Thanx everyone. We put Sophie on the Lasix and Enalapril yesterday. Thankfully she had a much better night last night. However, I kept getting up to see if she had to pee - finally she just plopped down in front of the living room fan and wouldn't budge - too tired I guess and thinking I was crazy to keep asking her to go outside in the middle of the night! :roll:

I will be phoning to see when the cardiologist is in my area again. My vet now wants to do an ultra-sound, but I'm not sure I want to go that route until I see a cardiologist.

Sheri
 
On Lasix generally if you get them out for a pee at 60-90 minutes after the pill, that will do it for the side effects. If you can give the pill at around dinnertime so she has a couple of chances to wee before bedtime you are unlikely to see any need to go after that til her normal schedule.
 
Yea, he did do an x-ray. Said there looked like fluid around the heart, which I figured would be the contributor for her labored breathing and panting.

I'm just not sure whether to have my regular vet do the ultra-sound vs. waiting for the cardiologist at another clinic (when he comes). Also, I'd like to see in a couple weeks if the fluid level looks better after taking the Lasix.

Sheri
 
really sorry to hear about sophie's symptoms sheri. I hope she gets good improvement soon with treatment. as for who to have do the ultra sound, maybe you can check and see if the cardiologist uses the same radiology center as the vet, and if they do, then could you just have the vet order it, and interpret it, and send the films to a cardiologist for their opinion as well?
Also, you could telephone the cardiologist and ask their opinion of the radiology center that the vet uses, and if they have no qualms about it, go ahead and have the vet order it, and have a consult with the cardiologist as well. If there'll be a cardiology clinic soon, of course you'll probably want to take advantage of that.

again, i just hope she feels better soon, and i hope the diagnosis will not be too serious.
 
Hope Sophie is feeling better soon. How old is she? Let's pray that the meds get it under control.
Julie and the girls
 
Hope all is going ok.

Until you next see the vet or cardiologist, you might be able to hear if the panting is less 'wet', if that makes sense.

I can tell with Cailean ... it's very hard to describe, but when he's got more fluid, his pant seems to end in a kind of 'clicking' noise.

I wish Cailean's Frusemide only made him wee more after 60-90 minutes :roll:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top