Aspirin unlikely to help dog's heart murmur

jkoch

By John Koch, DVMQuestion: My veterinarian has told me that my dog has a heart murmur. Apparently the murmur was not bad because I was told that no medication was necessary at that time. However, the other day when the doorbell rang Max got all excited and must have had a heart attack. He fell over and thrashed about the floor before finally staggering back to his feet. Since then, I have noticed he seems OK until he gets excited and starts to cough a little. I know I need to take him back to see his doctor, but for various reasons I am not able to do that right now. My doctor has told me that if I take a baby aspirin each day it will help to prevent heart attacks. Would giving Max a baby aspirin every day help?

Answer: Humans take baby aspirin to aid in the prevention of coronary artery blockage or what is often referred to as a heart attack. Dogs, unlike humans, do not suffer from coronary artery disease, so baby aspirin is unlikely to provide much help to Max.

Dogs do suffer from congestive heart failure. What happens in dogs suffering from congestive heart failure is that excitement or increased exercise causes an increase in oxygen consumption by the tissues. Because the heart cannot act efficiently and increase the flow of oxygenated blood to the body, it becomes deprived of oxygen. The brain responds by causing the animal to simply faint for a brief time. The term for this fainting episode is syncope, and it forces the animal's body to rest while the heart can catch up supplying oxygen where it is needed.

There are four stages of heart failure in dogs. The first stage rarely requires treatment. However, Max sounds as though his condition has progressed to stage three. Symptoms of stage three heart failure are coughing (especially at night), decreased exercise tolerance, enlarged abdomen and fainting.

Medical treatment with stage three is definitely indicated and usually will produce significant improvement. It is difficult to give a prognosis for congestive heart failure, but many dogs, with care and proper medication, can still live for a considerable period of time. As soon as you are able, take Max to your veterinarian for a cardiac evaluation and treatment.

Dr. Koch is a Cape Girardeau-area veterinarian.