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Heart Arrhythmia 16 Month BC


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We have a 16 Month old Border Collie named Madison. It's our first Border Collie and we're extremely happy, we love the breed! At about 6 months the vet noticed a heart arrhythmia and didn't know what to do so we switched to a vet with more experience. He said it isn't uncommon for young dogs to have the condition and we could take steps get to the root of the problem or just monitor it. We've decided to monitor her health and look for signs of fatique etc. She seems perfectly healthy, loves to run after ball and fisbee.

 

We just had our annual check up and they still hear the H.A. it was a different vet (same hosptial) so it's hard to compare if it's getting worse. However both vets are concerned and recommended we get an echocardiogram and have Madison wear a backpack monitoring her heart not because it's getting worse, but because she is now an adult and still has the problem. Has anyone had experience with this condition? Any recommendations on steps to take?

 

Thanks.

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Do you have any more info on what kind of an arrhythmia it is (there are many)? How was this diagnosed? In general, debilitating arrhythmias are not very common in dogs (except a few non-border collie breeds). Are you sure it is not a murmur instead of an arrhythmia?

 

Either way, I'd recommend a work-up by a cardiologist if your vets are concerned.

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You have to ask yourself whether spending a lot of money getting tests done would make any difference to your dog and my guess is no. Ask your vets whether knowing more is likely to translate into beneficial treatment for your dog that he actually needs.

 

If there are no symptoms and your dog appears fit and healthy then there is likely to be no treatment that will be appropriate ftb.

 

Drugs can be pretty heavy duty and carry unpleasant side effects and surgery is a drastic option in some cases - both are normally saved for more serious conditions.

 

I've been there with my old dog. My vet found an arrhythmia on a check up, carried out an ECG which confirmed it and an X ray showed a slight enlargement on one side.

 

She phoned the local cardiologist who was of the opinion that he didn't seem like a candidate for treatment since he was fitter and more active than many dogs of his age and was showing no adverse effects.

 

My own vet admitted that if I were to see the cardiologist and get more tests done it would only be to satisfy her curiosity as to what was causing it as it was unusual - but of course she wouldn't be paying the bill.

 

After my initial panic I decided to leave him be and to let him carry on as before. He doesn't know he might be ill and I'm not going to behave as if he is. I'm aware that he may develop a problem and am alert to any unusual signs but since he underwent a cruciate repair 10 months ago and his ECG trace at the time was perfectly normal over 2 hours I'm happy I made the right decision.

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Hmmmm....I'd want to know if it's an *arrythmia* or a *murmur* as the two could have different short- and long-term effects and different treatments (though if they're recommending a Holter monitor, etc., then it likely is arrythmia). I'd also ask my vet (or a second vet), after finding out which it is, what next steps would be helpful and what diagnostics might give the most useful information for my money. Second opinions never hurt.

 

J.

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Has anyone had experience with this condition? Any recommendations on steps to take?

 

 

No experience, but if I were in your shoes, I would want to know all I could for her future health and treatment. So, I would do the monitoring that was recommended and go from there. Better yet, a cardiologist as Emily said. Of course, it's a personal decision, and only you can decide what's best for you and your dog. That's just what I'd do in your situation.

 

Best wishes for many happy, healthy years ahead with Madison.

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Um, spending money is ones choice. There's a huge difference in a 16 month old and a 10 year old. I can't figure out why you think spending money - figuring out what is wrong and needs to be done for quality of life - is not worth it.

 

It depends whether that knowledge is going to make any difference.

Age didn't come into it - the fact that the dog was asymptomatic did, plus the fact that the cardiologist said he wouldn't give drugs to a dog that didn't need them.

 

I know he might at some time need treatment. I know to be alert to any changes. Giving it a name wouldn't really tell me any more.

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I really appreciate all the feedback. The EKG found that it was a sinus arrhythmia. If we knew it would save Madison's life we would certainly spend the money, she's a wonderful dog. The reason for writing this to get an idea if others had experience with this type of condition and how it turned out for them. I know humans can live perfectly normal lives with arrhythmias and vets are always going aire on the side of caution and recommend the absolute best option as if money were no object. We're trying to gather as much data as possible so we can make an educated decision on whether it's a necessity to move ahead with the echocardiogram and other tests, or can we simply monitor her health and be aware of any changes and take further steps if and when it's needed.

 

Thanks for all of the interest and concern.

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We're trying to gather as much data as possible so we can make an educated decision on whether it's a necessity to move ahead with the echocardiogram and other tests, or can we simply monitor her health and be aware of any changes and take further steps if and when it's needed.

This sounds like a reasonable desire. Maybe discuss this very question with your regular vet or a second vet and then go from there. It's perfectly reasonable to tell the vet that money *is* an issue and that you would prefer to do tests that will change/direct the course of treatment or management and not to tests that won't change treatment/management.

 

J.

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A sinus arrhythmia is normal in dogs (ie non-pathological). The heart rate changes based on variables such as the dog's breathing or excitement.

 

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/11205.htm

 

If this is the only finding, I wouldn't be concerned or seek further diagnostics. But I am a little confused why your vets seem to be recommending otherwise, so perhaps they are seeing something else?

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I've listed the general findings from EKG below:

 

There is a sinus arrhythmia with a normal to moderately elevated rate throughout strip.

Rate: 100 to 180 bpm

Rhythm: sinus rhythm with occasional, single, uniform VPC's

P-QRS-T

 

There is a lot more information on the print out for the EKG, but this is the basic summary. This was done when she was 5 months old.

 

After this test two different vets have listened to her heart and both can still hear it.

 

Thanks.

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I have a little experience with this unfortunately.

 

 

My Kenzie without being obviously "wrong" was just not quite "right", enough to cause me to take her to the vet anyway.At the same time as being incredibly competitive and very fast she seemed also not to have the same exercise tolerance as her older brother.

 

Her initial visit showed nothing,good heart sounds,good colour,no temperature etc.I asked for further investigation so we did bloods next which also came back fine.But, and here I say thank heavens for insurance,I was still convinced that there was something so at this point my vet did an ECG and a Cardiac Ultrasound which finally did confirm that she has an arrythmia.

 

On discussion with my vet it was decided that even though the problem was mild we would start treatment straight away so that she would have the greatest opportunity to be what she is,a young collie.

 

Her first medication was Beta blockers to slow her heart rate and also to limit her free exercise to 20 minutes a day.On lead exercise was fine though.She is now on Vivitonin and Vetmedin and we`ve worked back up to around 1hr free exercise daily but I do stop her before that if I think I need to.

This short video shows the after effects of 10 minutes charging about with her brother and is from last september.She was 19 months old at the time and he had just had his 9th birthday,for comparison.

 

 

http://s1122.photobucket.com/albums/l530/traadilooar/?action=view¤t=video-2011-09-20-19-23-24.mp4

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Sorry to hear about your dog, I hope that the medications are working and she/he lives a long life. I would really like to see the video, but the link isn't working. Could you maybe try it again or do you have any other ideas for us viewing it. It would be nice to see the comparison as we have nothing to compare Madison stamina to. Thanks, I appreciate it.

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I got a GSD import that was just shy of 3 yrs old when I got him. The vet noticed an arrhythmia right away and we did an EKG and x-ray(this was before ultrasound was common). It showed that one side of his heart was enlarged. At the time the vet felt that it was because of his extreme fitness level. I was warned that it may become an issue when he was old but that otherwise they didn't expect any problems. We had to have him PTS at almost 14 yrs old due to spinal arthritis, he never showed any signs of heart issues.

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Sorry to hear about your dog, I hope that the medications are working and she/he lives a long life. I would really like to see the video, but the link isn't working. Could you maybe try it again or do you have any other ideas for us viewing it. It would be nice to see the comparison as we have nothing to compare Madison stamina to. Thanks, I appreciate it.

 

 

 

Not sure why the link isn`t working for you as it is for me.You could maybe try copy and paste?I don`t know how to get it on the page.

 

 

 

 

http://s1122.photobu...20-19-23-24.mp4

 

 

Kenzie says thanks,so far the medication seems to be keeping her stable.We do an ECG every 8 weeks and there is a slight improvement each time.I have decide that I want her to be the young thug that she is and not wrap her in cotton wool.Therefore she still gets to run and play and be a dog and I accept that all day off lead hikes are not going to happen in her life time.

 

If she drops down dead running on the beach at 4 or 5 or 6 this seems preferable to me to living to 15 but never being allowed to have fun.(Although I still can`t type that without tears)

 

I hope you get to the bottom of things with your baby as well.

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