Just like humans get heart disease, your pet can be diagnosed too.
The earlier the condition is detected the better the chance for your pet to have a good quality of life.
Understanding heart disease
To best understand heart disease we are going to use an analogy. Think of the heart as a pool pump, which circulates water to remove leaves. Our heart pumps blood to circulate oxygen to all our organs in the body. This oxygenated blood enables our cells to do their normal function. Without oxygen our cells will die.
A pet with a heart disease is not able to meet the circulatory demands of their body. Depending from where the problem lies inside the heart, this blood will be backed up and eventually starts to cause congestion. Alternatively the heart may also have an affect on the conduction of the heart and cause an arrythmia.
There is multiple causes for congestive heart disease.
This article will highlight the symptoms of heart disease.
Symptoms
- Unproductive coughing
- Struggling to breath.
- Lethargy
- Inappetence
- Reduced ability to exercise
- Weight loss/gain
- Collapsing/Fainting
- Restlessness especially at night
- Edema-swelling of body tissues
if you suspect that your put suffers from a cardiac condition, it is best to book a veterinary appointment asap.