Hi,
I have not posted in the pet forum before but have been reading your messages and you all sound great.
My OH took our dog to the vet for his booster jab yesterday and the vet said he has a heart murmur and should go for tests they are arranging an ultra sound at ecclesall road. What is a heart murmur and is it fatal ?
I was so upset when my OH told me i have been up all night. My dog is only 3 years old and i cant understand it he doesnt seem ill.
Is there anything i can do to help him i will be devestated if i loose him.:(
Has anyone been through anything like this
Thank You

Not sure about dogs, but our cat has had a heart murmur for the last 8 years. Seems to be ok, if a bit lazy and thick.

A heart murmur is a sound generated by turbulent blood flow in the heart or blood vessels nearby. Turbulence can be caused by a valve that is not quite closed properly allowing blood to flow the wrong way; or by a narrowed valve or area of the heart causing an obstruction to blood flow; or by abnormal connections within the heart or between the major blood vessels.

A heart murmur in a dog almost always indicates that there is heart disease. "Disease" simply defines the presence of an abnormality. That abnormality may or may not go on to cause heart failure depending on what it is and how bad it is. Heart failure is a condition defined by the heart failing to do its job of pumping blood. Not all dogs with murmurs will go on to develop heart failure, and you should be re-assured by this.

The point of further investigations, which if complete may include blood tests, ECG, chest xrays and echocardiogram (ultrasound scan). A lot can be determined during examination with a stethoscope, and taking into account the breed (you do not mention breed), age and sex of your dog, along with the location of the murmur and the timing and intensity of it.

Further investigations are recommended to give you all this information. A heart murmur is not a diagnosis, only a clinical sign. Your vet will be able to do some or all of the tests themselves, or may recommend referral to a cardiologist. It hard when its a much loved pet but try not to panic as there are lots of things it could be, a great many of them quite benign :).

Not sure about dogs, but our cat has had a heart murmur for the last 8 years. Seems to be ok, if a bit lazy and thick.

Cats on the other hand are a bit naughty - they can have a murmur but no significant heart disease, and they can have significant heart disease with no murmur! I'm afraid the only way to say if a cat's heart is sound involves a little more than just listening. Blood tests and a scan are usually required.

Thank you for your messages my dog is a labrador i really hope he will be ok he seems young for this to have happened to him and we had no signs at all i will just have to wait and see what the ultrasound says its awful even waiting for the appointment.
Thank you

You must be really worried lilly82- I had a cat with a serious heart problem and it was such a tense time just fretting about what could be going wrong with her.

Fingers crossed that the tests show that this is a mild murmur which allows you to do something positive for your dog in the many years he has left. If you're local to Sheffield you'll probably be referred on to Vicky Ironside as a cardiologist- she comes heartily recommended by all chez moi and is very good at reassuring owners and getting cardiac symptoms under control.

In the mean time, keep him moving with gentle exercise (don't stop him going out as that's not likely to do him any good) and do what you can to make sure that he's not carrying any extra weight. Give him a snug off me please.

Thank you yes we are local to Sheffield the vet just said it would be Ecclesall road didn't mention a name but i hope it is her if she is good i really want the best for him. He is a very good weight so we don't have a problem with that but is really giddy and energetic so will have to try really hard to only give him gental excise i am thinking of just taking him on little walks and not letting him off his lead but he wont like that :shocked:
Thanks Again you are all very kind

Hi there,

try not to worry too much, my old dog had a heart murmur from being 8 weeks old and it never caused her any problems until she turned 11. She then went on tablets which controlled her condition until she was 15 when we had to put her to sleep for something completely different (tumours in her lungs).

I hope everything goes well for you all.

My new pup has a mild heart murmur, at least two of my of cockers had them(although they weren't identified until they were old) - btw my daughter also has one.
It's not really a cause for concern unless its a major one.