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does anyone on the board have experience with a dog with mitral valve disease?
i understand the mechanics of this condition and barnaby's been living with it for years, so i don't need links to other sites...i'd just like to know about anyone else's personal experiences.
I don't... yet... thank goodness. My Cavalier is only 4 and quite healthy. I'll be interested to see what others may post.
That's grea news! If your Cavy hasn't developed a problem yet, she may have a form of MVD that starts later in life. With proper treatment these guys can live a pretty normal lifespan. Or maybe you won't ever have a problem.
I love Cavaliers, but I work for a veterinary cardiologist now and I know too much...
I don't have any experience with my personal pets and MVD. I have a couple of patients I've gotten to know pretty well. And if anyone has medical questions, I can probably find the answers. Although the best thing is always to talk with a veterinary cardiologist for those sorts of questions, of course.
I'm so glad I found this post. I have a 13 yr old Chow/Cocker mix who has been my best friend and object of affection since she was 8 weeks old! Though she was JUST diagnosed this week, I can speak to some symptoms that I noticed. With her age, I really didn't think anything of her 'slowing down" or her lessened eating habits. However, about 2 weeks ago I noticed that she was having a dry hacking cough as if she needed ot cough up something - though again, it was dry. Then, one night, when chasing a Oppossum, she FAINTED. I took her into the vet and there she fainted again. My wonderful vet, who my family has used for 15 yrs, had noticed a VERY slight heart murmur a couple of years ago. On the x-ray, we found her left chamber was enlarged and she was diagnosed with age related mitral valve disease. My vet immediately started her on ACE-Inhibator (Enaporil) as well as a Diuretic (fourosemide). BOth seemed to have a positive effect w/in 12 hours and she has not fainted since being on meds. She is much more alert - playful and eating well. Though there is no cure and the meds will not prolong her life, they will make her more confomfortable and buy at least some time with a good quality of life. I've been doing much research this week - she was almost 50 lbs at her heaviest when much much younger and has very slowly gotten down to 35 lbs. (7 lbs lost in last year). I don't know how long I have wiht her as everything I read and research states that the prognosis is very different with each individual dog. She could have weeks, months or likely at best, one more year. With her age, it is very likely that the progression will be faster than that of a younger dog. I hope this helps and i will also keep posted with check-ups and as we go along. Thanks, it's nice to be able to share and see other's experiences!
nstrasner - hi! i've been away...actually at the vet specialist for barnaby, and just happened to check back into the forum today. i'm so glad to see you posted!
enalapril is a VERY good medication...barnaby has been on this med since 2006, and it has really helped with his quality of life and caused him no ill side effects.
he was originally diagnosed, like sadie, with age-related mitral valve disease (faulty aortal flaps and enlargement of the heart for anyone who is not familiar with the condition) on the left side of his heart in may of that year and has just been diagnosed with the same thing on the right side of his heart in february of this year (2009).
i remember when barnaby was first diagnosed, i was afraid he would drop dead any second. really, that very first day he was diagnosed, i'd stop whatever i was doing and just look at his ribcage every couple of minutes to make sure he was still breathing when he was asleep. this is something i STILL do three years later! crazy, i know!
i will say one other thing that your vet probably told you and that you probably do instinctively anyway. if you can manage sadie's stress levels, that will help her heart. that's one of the first things the cardiologists explained to me...keep the stress levels down, the heart doesn't work so hard, and, voila, doggy lives longer. just like in humans if you think about it...
so, again, so glad to hear from you!
oh! one other thing...and your vet probably told you this as well. when i was in with the cardiologist who originally diagnosed barnaby, i asked about lifespan for dogs with this condition. that cardiologist told me that, barring other illnesses, dogs with this particular condition at a mild level and only on one side of the heart can expect to live from 2-4 more years.
this time around, when i asked our new cardiologist the same question, she gave me the following information. she said that a study had been done with a number with dogs who had the a mild-to-medium case of the condition in both sides of the heart. in this study, the vets expected the dogs to only live six more months...and ALL of the dogs lived for at least one year longer.
so, that gave me a LOT of hope for my 12-year old little boy!
i do know sadie's both older and bigger, but, boy, i'll sure be keeping my fingers crossed!
My dog was diagnosed with Mital Valve disease in Aug 2011. They gave him 1 year. I just noticed since July 3 rd. he has not been eating much. Lost 3 pounds. A little wobbly. I been cooking him scrambled eggs every morning and noodles, anything soft. He gobbles them right down.
I don't know if this is the final stages??
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Sadie has MVD
