Romeo is still doing good! Coming up on 3 years here in another 3 months or so. He's still running around 90% his normal self and the meds have stayed the same. He's due for his check up at OSU in a couple of weeks so we will see how that goes. Definitely don't give up... the studies sound scary but each dog is unique. I honestly would recommend looking into some Coq10 off Amazon (It's not that expensive and it's great for energy and with the fish oil as the fish oil can slightly increase the oxidation load) Also vitamin D has had at least one major study in canines that showed a benefit like it has in humans with heart failure. Just be careful with the dosage on the Vitamin D. I usually limit it to 2-3 times a week dropped in his food. I have no reason to believe he's not headed to at least a 4-5 year total survival.
My honest opinion is that if you can get past the acute episode of CHF and stabilize them (especially smaller breeds) they can live a good quality of life and for a surprising amount of time with the current meds. Vetmedin is the major player here and still <10 yrs old... it's a major difference. It doesn't exist I doubt Romeo is even still alive.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24205918
There is the study on vitamin D. It's not only a risk factor but also a risk for poorer outcome in dogs already with CHF. It's fairly recent (2014) unfortunately it takes time in the vet industry (so much smaller and less funded) for studies like this to get around I've made a habit of looking for new studies every couple of months and see what pops up
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10997750
Coq10 study. It's not extremely positive because it doesn't appear dogs have a legit coq10 deficiency like many humans do in CHF where a benefit is seen. It still showed a few positive responses and again it's great to mop up the extra free radicals the fish oil can produce. The fish oil is an excellent supplement and probably the most beneficial as regards to retarding excess inflammation but it does increase the free radical load a bit as the fats themselves (PUFA's) are not very stable. Last thing we want is reactive oxygen species eating up the valves and heart even more. Also I definitely saw an increase in energy after I began this a couple years ago
My best to your dog and yourself
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