Murmur grades go up to 6 and my Izzy lived for well over two years on a 6. Before that we'd known he had a 3-4 for a couple of years , but had no symptoms.
I took him to the vets, with a slight cough, just before Christmas, as he'd been in touch with dogs with kennel cough, though when this happened in the past, he didn't catch it. Unfortunately, this time, the cough was due to his heart condition and the vet put him on half a Fortekor5 per day. This was to slow his heart,which it did, but the cough, neither too bad nor frequent and usually first thing, remained about the same.
The next setback was in the late spring, when the hot weather started. First thing,Izzy was breathing heavily, though not panting much, and pawing at me to do something. The vet put him on Vetmedin, twice aday and , within a couple of days he was back to how he'd been before the upset. I was told that the Vetmedin opened the 'tubes' but I never remembered to ask whether the vet meant airways or blood vessels.
Late summer, we had the same problem again and the strength of the Vetmedin was doubled. the vet said we were coming to the end, but Izzy was fine again, after a couple of days.
The 'end' didn't come and we went on for over a year, with regular 3 monthly checkups. The vet said that though he had symptoms, his heartbeat and pulse were strong and that was the important bit.
Around September, last year, Izzy's hernia was round and hard and his tummy was drumlike when tapped. This time (first ever) fluid had started to build, but only in his abdomen (his lungs were clear) , so we went onto two halves of Frusicare (Frusimide) a day and these worked well, until a few days before Christmas when the fluid was building, so we went up to two aday for a week, then down to ona and a half. From then, I increased the dose slightly, myself, for a few days after coughy fluidy sessions which were usually around wether changes (I think due to pressure change).
Though a checkup in February showed that Izzy's body was coping well, he became more coughy and not as keen to eat all his dinner, though people food or treats weren't refused, one Friday in March. He had down days before, but popped back next day, but on Saturday, he was more lethargic and though he ate all his dinner ( a favourite expensive pouched one ) he was sleepy. Also, he had been weeing more the last couple of days, though Frusicare does make this happen and he was on two a day, that week.
I had a feeling that we may have to visit the emergency vet on Sunday, but this wasn't to be.
At 8pm he was begging for jelly gum sweets, which he got, then had a snooze. At 10 ish, he went for a drink when the others went out for last wees and was a little huffy. Though March, the air was quite close, so I suggested he go out for soem fresh air. he went off the doorstep then stood still, so I patted his bum and said 'Go do a wee' and off he went.
Monty and Teddy came back in and then I realised that the other two had been out for some time, so I put on my shoes and went out the back door to be met bya returning Joly, bit no Izzy.
I found him up the garden. He had died mid stride.
It was a difficult two years for us, but overall Izzy had a good quality of life.
Izzy a few weeks before.
Vets grading, without electronic help, does vary. I was upset to be told that Monty's 3 grade had gone to a 5, just before we risked anaesthetic. However, at his post treatment checkup, the head vet listened to his heart and said it was beating well and that that was the important bit. The best bit being that he still thinks it's only a lower end 4. He is symptom free and I pray that he goes on like this for some time.
