Rio has a heart murmur

[AT]

One of our charlies was diagnosed with a murmer when we got him , He very nearly went back to the breeder ( we had lost our first charlie to heart failure 2 weeks before)

Luckily we took him to another vet who found nothing wrong with him , apart from a bit of a snorty nose. He is now 10 & his heart is still ok.

I now take anything vets say with a pinch of salt & don't worry until they show obvious symptoms of a problem

Another of our chalies had a high grade murmer from the age of 2 & lived an active life until he died suddenly at 11

[Debby with a Y]

I forgot to mention that three years before she passed, her vet gave her two weeks to live...he was wrong and we had a wonderful few extra years of love together.

[shippers]

Sally was at the vet earlier in the week for a check up as she had been generally not herself and not eating. The vet checked her over. I asked after she had listened to her heart if it was ok. The vet could hear a heart murmur and graded it at 1. At first I didn't think too much about it as I have heard general vets are often not too good at grading murmurs. I think it has had time to sink in and now I can't stop worrying about it. She's only 10months old and I would be devastated if she had a bad heart. I know we can only do our best for them. I was wondering whether I should take her to a cardiologist and would the insurance pay? Also how do I find a reputable cardiologist in the UK?

[chloe92us]

Hi, My first Cav was diagnosed with a slight murmur at her 1st year check up. She is five now and it has not progressed and she has no signs of any problems. Unfortunately, this is something that we have to be willing to deal with as Cav owners. We can't get too serious until we need to. Love her and don't think she will die tomorrow. She will most likely live a long healthy life!

The beauty and love of a Cavalier, for me, far outweigh the medical problems that come with this amazing breed.

[CavyMom]

I agree with the cardiologist, I'm sorry to hear this Although with my Italians, sadly I've had a few good scares by vets that just didn't know about sighthounds - I was once told one of my IGs had a grade 3-4 murmer and he was amazed she wasn't showing any symptoms, I freaked out and got her into a cardiologist fast only to find out her heart was perfectly healthy - My IGs just have deep chests and murmers are a very common misdiagnosis in this breed. Most vets I pay little mind to if they say my dog has a mild murmer, I'll just get them into a cardiologist to be on the safe side. My cavalier I've already got an appt for to have her heart checked just to be safe even though the vet didn't say anything when I had her physical done right after I got her - But I figure it's better safe then sorry, alot of things are easier to slow down when they're caught early!!!!