Anyone have any experience with canine congestive heart failure?

It's not about a pug, but I'd be grateful for any experiences anyone has had with a dog suffering from congestive heart failure.

My daughter adopted two senior Yorkies 2 years ago. They are now 9 and 11 years old, and the younger one has just been diagnosed with congestive heart failure. The dog was totally asymptomatic up until this past weekend, when he started coughing a barking sort of cough. He'd had a physical and annual shots just 2 or 3 weeks ago, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. At first the vet was going to treat only for a respiratory issue, but we asked about congestive heart failure, so he did an x-ray. It showed a very enlarged heart, with lungs full of fluid.

The vet gave him an injection of Lasix then and there, and put the dog on daily doses of Lasix and enalapril. The little guy is still coughing, and has to go back for a check-up tomorrow. If he's not better, we're off to a canine cardiologist.

My daughter's very upset, because this is the more active and playful of the two dogs and she's gotten very attached to both of them. The older one will be lost without his companion and we're hoping he can manage with appropriate medical management.

Linda, Allie/TxAllieGrl and Joanne/Miss Pugg are your go-to guys in this - both have lots of experience and can give your daughter some hope of a lot more time with her little guy.

I believe that Hilary's Betsy has CHF as well.

Unfortunately, toy and teacup breeds are especially prone to CHF.

Linda, my Angel has CHF, and everyone has been really helpful with their advice.

The lasix is a great start. Many dogs do really well on lasix for quite some time - Angel is almost a year into her diagnosis. She too was preliminarily diagnosed with an x-ray, where we saw the fluid in her lungs.

Get your daughter to ask her vet about a Cardiopet test. This is testing the heart function by measuring the enzymes it's putting out into the blood (it's a blood test). It's about $125, and results come back in a few days. It's good to do this as a baseline - know how bad it is, to see the impact of the meds. It's also a heck of a lot cheaper than an ultrasound (the other diagnosis alternative).

Angel was lucky in that her initial Cardiopet test came back as mild CHF, and she just had a 2nd one, which showed her condition is well managed.

Angel is also on a temaril p - combo steroid & antihistamine - we determined the fluid on her lungs was due to her allergies.

Angel didn't improve on the lasix overnight. I checked in with her vet daily for the first week, then every 2-3 days for the next month I think. It takes a little time for the fluid to drain, and to keep it off, so the heart has some relief.

We've been lucky enough that the lasix (furosemide) plus temaril P is controlling Angel. we haven't had to add an anapril.

as a side note: furosemide is definitely a $4 generic at Wal-mart/Target - get the vet to write a script to save some $$. I would guess anapril is too - it's been on the market a while.

Angel is on 25mg, 2x per day. We played with that though - the first week or two we did 50mg 2x per day. Then lowered it a bit.

I would recommend the Cardiopet test to see how severe the heart failure is, and determine the best way to treat. A regular vet should be able to administer the test.

I think that would tell you if seeing a veterinary cardiologist is recommended/necessary.

The additional coughing could be residual - if the trachea was irritated by the initial bout of coughing, it could take some time to stop. With Angel, we also discovered a restricted trachea was adding to the mix of her cough.

The hard thing with CHF is that it isn't going to go away. but it can be managed with medication most of the time, and for quite some time. As I said, Angel is going on a year with the diagnosis, and I know one of Sharon's had CHF and did really well for a year and a half (maybe longer).

I know how your daughter feels - and it's scary. The best thing to do is take it one day at a time, monitor, and talk to a vet she trusts.

Let me know if you have other questions - I'm more than happy to share my experiences with CHF.

Hi Linda -

Sorry to hear that. Yes, Betsy was diagnosed with CHF in September, although she's had a fairly severe heart murmur for at least 3 years and I think she's probably had CHF for a while before diagnosis. She's doing well on 3 x 20 mg of Novo-Furosemide (lasix) daily as well as 2 1/2 mg apo-Benazepril and 2 x1.25 mg Vetmedin. The coughing/hacking and loss of breath are now under control. I think the last 2 drugs are to reduce blood pressure. The lasix is a diuretic to reduce the fluid and causes thirst and frequent/copious urination. It sometimes causes diarrhea also; it did with Mei-Ling but not with Betsy. Sometimes after she drinks (she can empty a whole bowl at one go), she has trouble getting her breath, probably because her water and air filled stomach is pressing on her other organs. But after a belch (which would make even my father-in-law proud), the problem disappears.

I always put Betsy in a diaper at night. She weighs about 14 lbs. I use Walmart's Parents Choice Premium Mega, size 2 (12-18 lb) for human babies and stick her tail out the side. I secure the diaper by having her wear a onesie (size 18 months) worn backwards so the snaps are on the back. I undo the top snap to make it looser around the neck/shoulders. I have found it is better to use onesies with the longer crotch section which snaps onto the back (front) and sides. The other ones are too hard to remove first thing in the morning when getting outside to potty quickly is a necessity.

The vet told me that it's almost always about a year between diagnosis and death, if the dog is put on medication. There is a 50/50 chance that the dog will die in its sleep from heart failure or in distress by drowning in the fluid around the heart/lungs. If you're lucky and the vet is open, you can get the distressed dog to the vet before too much suffering and send them peacefully to the Bridge.

I know, it sucks. But I've given you this amount of detail so that the parties involved can prepare themselves for the inevitable and enjoy the remaining days as much as possible. With Betsy, the medications have really helped her maintain quality of life for several months.

Hugs.

Thank you so much - I've sent the link to my daughter and I know she's taking it with her to the vet later today. "Heart failure" is such a frightening term to hear, but I know some people who are living with it, with meds and some adjustments.

We really appreciate the info!

Lulu had CHF for 4 years before her death at 17. She was on two medicines, Lasix and another I don't remember. Buffy was also diagnosed with it at the age of 13 and is also on two different medications. Both did/are doing well with it and I was amazed that Lulu made it for 4 years. Both she and Buffy took/take long walks with me and I really believe all that exercise has made their hearts stronger. We first discovered they had it when they started coughing.

My parents doberman had it when I was younger and he passed away. I unfortunately do not know much about it..but it is very sad :(

My Gumpy had congestive heart failure. He made it about 2 yrs after diagnosis, but I think he had it much longer.

He never seemed in pain, and he was happy until the very end. He was about 13 when he passed. What actually got him was the arthritis in his hips got so bad, that he struggle to walk and that put a huge strain on his heart.


I'll cross my fingers the meds work.