Heart Murmur In Cats And Anesthesia

The ultrasound will tell us a lot.

Heart murmur in cats and anesthesia. 1 2 Also of cats that have murmurs and are at risk of heart disease only 18 had cardiac disease. The murmur may first appear at 6-8 weeks of age and a kitten with an innocent heart murmur will usually outgrow it by about 4-5 months of age. Anaesthesia in dogs and cats with cardiac disease.

On the other hand heart murmur in cats and surgery expenses go anywhere from 800 to 1500. Yes certain heart conditions do increase the risk of general anesthesia. Some normal adult cats may have an intermittent heart murmur that shows.

A heart murmur is an abnormal sound heard when listening to the heart with a stethoscope. Many practitioners are reluctant to anesthetize patients with a murmur yet not all heart diseases are alike and they certainly do not carry the same risks. A thorough physical examination may reveal risk factors such as heart murmur andor arrhythmia.

Heart murmurs are rare in cats and when they occur in a younger animal they can present significant obstacles to otherwise standard healthcare like spaying and neutering. One study found prevalence to be 16 Paige C et al. But sometimes the position cats are standing in when we listen can affect the sounds we hear.

There are usually no external symptoms clinical signs of a heart murmur in itself. In a study performed in cats with a cardiac murmur but without any clinical symptoms ultrasound examination of the animals revealed that 53 of these cats suffered from heart disease NAKAMURA et al 2011. Veterinary dental specialists are specifically trained in risk management particularly for cats that have other diseases that make the odds of success too low for general-practice veterinarians to undertake.

Cats Protection will only refer a cat to a specialist if classed as grade 5 or 6. Cats with HCM can have normal lives and then as they get older the heart can start to fail. It is therefore imperative to reach a complete cardiac diagnosis rather than to settle for a diagnosed murmur as reason enough to avoid general anesthesia especially when non-elective procedures are considered.