Heart murmur in puppy.

Dr. Marie replied:

I have to say this is the first time someone has given me an audio clip to interpret online!

Unfortunately, it's really hard to hear whether or not there is a murmur here.

I'm not too worried about the rate....Yes, it is faster than normal, but I don't usually get too stressed about that.

The main concern is whether or not there is a murmur and you really need a good stethoscope in order to hear that.

My guess is, that if the breeder has said that her vet has heard a severe murmur then there really is one there. There would be no reason for a breeder to falsify that kind of information. We grade murmurs on a scale of 1-6 with 6 being the most severe. Did she give you a number?

If a dog has a grade 1 or 2 murmur as a pup it can often go away as the puppy matures. But, higher than that usually means that there is a heart problem.

Some heart problems are potentially treatable but if there is a severe murmur in a young dog like this then we have to be prepared that little Marilyn may not live a long life. (With that being said, I have seen dogs with very obvious murmurs that have defied the odds and lived to an old age.)

Unfortunately the only way to know what is going on with this heart will be to have an ultrasound (also called an echocardiogram) done. You will likely need to be referred to someone through your veterinarian. Before you make the appointment with the ultrasonographer, be sure to ask if they are comfortable doing this on such a small dog. It may be a difficult thing to do!

The ultrasound really should tell you why a murmur is there. A murmur means that there is a disturbance in the way that blood flows in the heart. It could be that a valve is defective, or that there is a hole in the septum (i.e. in the middle of the heart) or many other things. Once you get the diagnosis, then the ultrasonographer will tell you what kind of life expectancy or problems you can expect.

On a happy note, I saw a kitten a few months ago with an extremely loud murmur. We had a specialist ultrasound her heart and she had a tiny septal defect (a hole in her heart). The prognosis was excellent and she should live a full life.

I hope that helps and I really hope the diagnosis is a good one!

Dr. Marie.



Warning: Undefined variable $displayed in /usr/home/drmarie/public_html/askavetquestion.com/answer_np.php on line 253
Do you have a pet website? Interested in learning more about SEO for Wix?

---

Check out our dog age calculator and cat age calculator.

Dr. Marie replied:

You're very welcome! And thanks for the recommendation.

Dr. Marie