1st May 2006

My two-year-old cocker spaniel bitch has been diagnosed with a heart murmer. What should I do?

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Question:

I have a two-year-old cocker spaniel bitch that has been spayed. Over the last wo months, I have had to take her to the vet as she has been sick and had diarrhoea that was totally red in colour. She was given a combination injection on both occasions and a week's course of tablets. However, both times, the vet said that she had a heart murmur - I find this quite horrifying, as she is only two. He did say that this could be a temporary condition, due to her being unwell, but that this seems unlikely, as it was the same on both visits. Can you give me any advice on what to do about the heart problem? I am very concerned as I had a male cocker spaniel (not related to my present dog) and he was diagnosed with a heart problem when he was eight, and eventually we had to have him put down at eleven.

Answer:

My initial advice is that you should not worry too much at the moment. It is certainly possible that the murmur that has been detected may only be temporary. Murmurs occur when the blood flow through the heart is not as smooth as usual. For some reason the blood flow may have become turbulent and noisy as a result, creating a murmur. The most common cause of turbulent blood flow within the heart is if a heart valve is leaking. If your bitch has developed an infection, it may be that bacteria have settled on to a heart valve, causing it to leak a little. A course of antibiotics will often cure this. Occasionally, a heart valve will start to fail for other reasons and a progressive murmur will be noticed. These types of murmur are not curable, but it is possible to give medication to slow down the progression of the problem and help the heart beat more efficiently. You should ask your vet what type of murmur they think it is and whether it should be investigated using an ultrasound examination. This can be done on a conscious animal and is completely painless. It is a very good way to tell whether a problem is getting worse or not. Good luck.