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Congenital Heart Defect


carolync
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Hi all,

 

It's been over ten years since I last posted on this board. Wow.

 

Anyway, I recently adopted a young border collie; at 4 months of age she had an enlarged heart and level one heart murmur, vet figured she will lead a full life.

 

Turns out that's not the case. At 11 months her murmur was a level 3, at 15 months, a level 5. I took her to the cardiologist and it turned out she has a congenital heart defect, blood vessel never closed up at birth.

 

We are scheduled for surgery next month to correct it. She will probably live a full life if her heart goes back to it's normal size - right now it's the size of a 100 lb. dog.

 

Anyone have any first hand experience to share? Also looking for ideas to keep her calm for 4 weeks after.

 

On a side note, she's also extremely reactive and fearful, which started somewhere around 6 months (she was in another adopted home at that point, she lived in 4 different places before landing at my doorstep at 7 months). Heart issues can cause feelings of panic and anxiety in humans, and I've very curious to know if it's the same in dogs.

 

Thanks in advance for any advice, stories, etc.

 

Carolyn

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Welcome back! I surely can't help you in any way except to wish you and your young dog the very best outcome to the surgery, and hope that that (plus your loving care and socialization) can help her overcome her anxieties.

 

Very best wishes!

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Yes, it's a patent ductus arteriosus. Guess I should have mentioned that in my post. :)

Cardiologist is optimistic, but of course there are no guarantees. Fingers, toes, paws crossed the meds will keep any heart failure at bay until the surgery.

 

Thanks.

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  • 1 month later...

Happy Update: Bett's procedure was a success! She had no signs of congestive heart failure and the PDA was completely sealed, no blood flow shown on the echocardio immediately after surgery. Heart had shrunk also (she had a heart the size of a 100 pound dog).

 

We go back for another echo in 3 months to see how things stand.

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Our 12 1/2 year old dog was born with a PDA. He was over a year old when the University was able to perform the procedure for him. He has lived a normal life since then. He worked sheep for my husband and he was able to trial him some in novice. Our Stryker did dislocate his hip and had to have two surgeries to correct that. But he is still going strong at 12 1/2. Please feel free to ask me any questions. We didn't have to keep him quiet after his procedure as he did not have open heart surgery. The procedure they did for him involved going into the femoral artery and feeding a device up to his heart and then inflate this balloon type of a device.

 

Kathy

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Great to hear Kathy, especially sine your Stryker was older also, that was one of the concerns on her success. The resident said her heart may end up being more of a geriatric heart, but that won't slow her down. I have noticed her exercise intolerance is still on the low side, but not nearly what it was prior to the procedure.

 

She also had the same procedure, she had an occluder put in. I was instructed to keep her calm for two weeks, which was a relief since initially they said 4!

 

It's a shame the original owner didn't catch the problem, she was purchased to be a trial/working dog. When it was discovered she had a murmur and an enlarged heart, (so couldn't work) she was turned into rescue. With the proper diagnosis and treatment she could have been a working dog. I guess some things are meant to be. :-) She's a crazy gal and is teaching me lots.

 

The rescue I adopted her from does have clinics a couple times a year, I may sign her up for one at some point, but I don't see trialing in my future. :-)

 

 

Our 12 1/2 year old dog was born with a PDA. He was over a year old when the University was able to perform the procedure for him. He has lived a normal life since then. He worked sheep for my husband and he was able to trial him some in novice. Our Stryker did dislocate his hip and had to have two surgeries to correct that. But he is still going strong at 12 1/2. Please feel free to ask me any questions. We didn't have to keep him quiet after his procedure as he did not have open heart surgery. The procedure they did for him involved going into the femoral artery and feeding a device up to his heart and then inflate this balloon type of a device.

 

Kathy

 

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