Know the Signs & Options

Congestive heart failure, or CHF, isn’t a disease, it’s a condition of heart disease that your dog is either born with, genetically predisposed to develop, or develop due to age/poor diet/infection. CHF occurs when your dogs heart is unable to pump the right amount of blood through the body.  Fluids begin to build up in the lungs, chest cavity, or abdomen as a result of some form of heart disease. This congestion causes organs in the body to swell, fail, or act abnormally. CHF can impact one or both sides of the heart. Early detection and treatment can help manage the condition but it is not currently curable.

Some breeds are more predisposed to CHF based on genetics. Great Danes, Poodles, Dachshund, Doberman Pinschers, Golden Retrievers, Boxers, and Miniature Schnauzers are most likely to develop CHF as breeds. However, no type of dog is immune to CHF, especially as they age.  As we eluded to earlier, CHF is not a disease on to itself, it is a symptom of aortic valve, dilated cardiomyopathy, congenital heart disease, mitral valve disease, or sick sinus syndrome. Other causes could be defects in the heart wall on lining, arrhythmia, narrowing of the major blood vessels, undetected or treated heart-worms, accumulating fluid around the sack of the heart, or cancerous tumors.  In each case, the heart is damaged and has to work harder to beat and push blood through the body.  Eventually the heart becomes too tired, the damage so severe that it can no longer support the bodies needs. Even a dogs diet, might lead to the development of CHF. Feeding regiments that are grain free, or diets high in the usage of peas or legumes are tied to the eventual development of CHF.

CHF looks, acts, and sounds differently depending on what side of the heart is impacted, in some cases the entire heart is damaged and you’ll see a variety of these symptoms.

Left Side Symptoms:

  • Persistent, moist cough. This will occur in an increasing frequency and the condition advances and you’ll hear it even when the pet is resting or sleeping.

  • Increased rate of breath which is often shallow and distressed

  • Labored breathing, even when the dog is not coughing or exerting themselves

  • They tire easily

  • Pale or blueish gums

  • A detectable heart murmur

Right Side Symptoms:

  • Coughing

  • Tiring quickly during exercise

  • Swollen abdomen

  • Swelling of the limbs

  • Heart murmur

According to the American Kennel Club (AKC), there are four distinct stages of CHF;

  • Stage A – Your dog is predisposed to developing heart disease due to breed, age, or lifestyle. During this stage you’ll not notice any symptoms. This “pre” stage could last for years as heart disease of some form develops and takes a foothold.

  • Stage B – Your veterinarian detects a heart murmur during an exam. A lot of pets have heart murmurs for various clinical reasons. So this still might not be tied to heart disease or CHF.

  • Stage B2 – The heart murmur is found and structural changes in your dogs heart are detected in X-rays or an electrocardiogram.

  • Stage C – Heart disease is diagnosed and treatment begins. Most dogs respond positively to the treatments.

  • Stage D – The heart disease and CHF condition are severe. The dog is no longer responding to any treatments or medications. This is referred to as the “end-stage” and end of life options should be discussed to avoid the dog’s suffering.

What is the Long Term Outlook for a Dog Diagnosed with CHF?

Once detected and diagnosed with CHF, a dog receiving treatment can live anywhere from 6 months to 3 years, depending on how soon the condition was detected, how they respond to treatment/medications, and the overall condition of the dogs health. Other medical conditions or illnesses can impact the dogs health. CHF can also lead to the development of kidney disease or pneumonia. An owner must realize that once heart disease is detected in your pet, your thoughts and actions must change from a cure to quality of life for the animal.

What Can be Done for my Dog Once CHF is Detected?

The good news is, veterinary medicine has a multitude of treatments for different kinds of heart disease and CHF. The targeted treatments for CHF are designed to remove the excess fluid buildup. Other treatments dilate the blood vessels and allow them to hold more fluid and decrease the workload of the heart. Here are some basic treatment options your veterinarian may discuss with you;

Diuretics – as in humans, the use of diuretics will help to remove the fluid that builds up in the body

Oxygen Therapy – the use of oxygen treatments will help a pet with fluid in or around the lungs to breath easier

Pimobendan, ACE inhibitors, anti arrhythmic drugs, implant of a pacemaker, or surgery may be options your veterinarian discusses with you. Often the treatment option is dictated by the physical condition of the pet being seen and the overall health of the animal.  In some cases a change in diet will be part of the discussed treatment. A low sodium diet might be part of the treatment, as salt causes water retention.

Sadly, your cat can also develop CHF if they have heart disease. Most often a heart disease called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy will lead to your can showing signs of CHF. The walls of the heart thicken causing the fluid buildup associated with the CHF condition. Cats might also be diagnosed with thyroid disease, high blood pressure, or other illnesses that will spur the condition of CHF.

Early detection of heart disease is critical to the treatment options for your pet. The sooner a heart condition is detected, the quicker a plan of action can be developed and started. So regular veterinary visits and quick action on any potential signs of heart problems, or CHF symptoms, need to be acted on. Even if you’re wrong and its a cold, or some other minor issue, it’s better to be safe by having an exam, than sorry that you ignored a potential health problem.

In the end, heart disease and the accompanying impact of CHF, is not curable. Your pet is not going to beat the illness, its up to you to monitor the situation and make their quality of life the best it can be. Being a responsible pet parent comes with some heavy and awful life choices from the ones that you love. As the illness advances and the quality of life decreases, it will be up to you to make the hard, but right, decisions for your pets. Consider that if they have CHF, they are drowning in their own bodies and cannot express to you the impact physically and emotionally.  As hard as it is to let them go, the right thing to do is consult with your trusted veterinary experts and let them help you to help your pet. After all, wouldn’t your pet do the same for you if they could?

We love our animals as family and we sincerely wish they would live forever. The average life span of a dog is 8 to 12 years, such a short time for one loved so much. During those years you live their life to the fullest, protect and coddle them, and help them enjoy the time they have with you. Once their life quality starts to slide, and the joy in life starts to escape them, you must become the one that decides when enough is enough. Its all a part of the unspoken and unwritten contract between pet parent and fur child. Often most painful part of being the parent of the most wonderful pet in the world is saying goodbye. A subtle cruelty in life is being the one left behind with all the memories.

We hope our focus on CHF might spur you to take a path of early detection and treatment. Sadly, not all of our #FreddieSez topics are fun, light, and easy… but life is not a path walked without pitfalls, sadness, and obstacles. It’s how we react when faced with life’s difficulties, the decisions we make, the options we choose, and the outcomes that we can control that make up our legacy and how we are remembered.

Thanks for joining us again this week for our Dog Blog. If you found value in our post this week, do take the time to look through our vast library of pet related topics. We cover everything from lighthearted fun, to heavy hitting medical topics. We do the research so that you don’t have too.

Till we meet again next time, we wish you all a wonderful week of fun and play with your fur kids, the best of health and happiness, and we are most hopeful that you’ll always be pet friendly… #FreddieSez.