heart murmur??

[big chief1 40]

took my two new pups to get vaccinations today, vet said pup has heart murmur but not to worry, anyone else had this? and will it effect running? vet said might go by 2nd jab. ???

[Shazza 52]

Yes mate, had same thing with my Akita when he was a pup. Vet told us he had a severe heart murmur and i almost took him back to the breeder. He seemed perfectly fine to us so we left it, when he got his first yearly booster around 14 months old i asked them to check his heart and Vet said all was perfect.

He lived to a good old age, i only had him PTS in May this year

 

Some pups hearts just take a little longer to seal off than others, give it time and see if yours does. I'd say by 4-5 months his heart will be perfect

[collie/grey 238]

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Edited October 13, 2011 by collie/grey

[skycat 6,173]

I did some research on this a while back as it has been present in some of the pups I've known as well. A friend's coursing bitch had it too: never affected her running in the slightest. It is called Sinus Arrythmia, and basically means that the heart beats faster when breathing in, and more slowly when breathing out, which can make it seem an irregular beat. Personally I've never known a dog to have a problem if it has this: what vets tend to call a heart murmur. I wouldn't worry about it if the pup seems fine in itself, doesn't get tired quickly or run out of breath.

 

Here's an extract from a article on it: if you want to read the whole thing I've put the link underneath:

 

The sinoatrial node (SA Node, or SAN), also called the sinus node, is the initiator of electrical impulses within the heart, triggering the heart to beat, or contract, by firing off electrical surges (also called the heart's pacemaker). The sinus discharge rate depends on two opposing influences of the nervous system: stimulation from the vagus nerves (nerves that originate in the lower brain stem [medulla] and send signals to the autonomic organs of the body) decreases the spontaneous discharge rate and predominates over sympathetic stimulation (mediating the neuronal and hormonal stress response commonly known as the fight-or-flight response). During inhalation, feedback from the respiratory and cardiac centers produce cardiac acceleration by decreasing restraints on the vagus nerves; the opposite occurs during exhalation.

http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/cardiovascular/c_dg_arrhythmia

[thorny 100]

I had this with a litter of pups I bred some years ago. Before they left me I took them all down vets for an MOT and jabs. My usual vet was on holiday so we had His stand in. Out of the 6 pups He said 3 had heart murmurs. I came home gutted. Within Bull Terriers there is heredatory heart problem so, phoned where I had my older dogs tested for heart complaints. Spoke to the cradioligist guy there and he said " it would be hard to diagnose a pup of a young age with a heart murmur, as there is still movement and growing within the heart and valves, this can rasp as it is listen to and sound as if there is a heart mumur as it will drowne when listen to. " He also went on to add that he would be surprised if the 3 pups at a year old would show any symptons of a murmur or heart complaints, at there booster jab check up. As both parents where tested clear of any heart complaints. As the pups left me I informed there new owners of what had happened. so I could get feedback in a years time and act upon it shoould I need to, all where fine and are living long happy lives, with no heart murmurs. I think sometimes we have to remember that there are vets and then there are good vets that have seen things a thousend times before. Had My normal vet been there he may of heard the same , but after talking to him on his return he said this was a thing he had come across in pups from time to time, and would make a mark of it on there records, and also explain what it was and the fact that in most cases it will be gone at 12 months,due to a pups growth. Not saying this is the case for Your pup, but lets hope so.

Thorny

[Cold Ethyl 63]

yeah all the time the pups i had here were the only exception tbh.My terrier was treated for heart disease and turns out she didnt have it after seeing a specialist and the meds f****d her kidneys she had perfect kidney and liver function prior to meds.Chnaces are she had listed it as a grade 1 heart murmer or faint murmer i think some vets dont realise theres a differance in running dogs due to a larger heart that works faster and harder.So i wouldnt worry too much and theyre too young to tell at this age anyways

[big chief1 40]

Thanks for all your points, The pup seems fine only 6 weeks old bitch, she should be fine by sounds of it from what Ive just read, thanks.

[torchey 1,327]

I had a collie,whippet,grey a few years back that dropped whilst lamping ,stone dead 3 1/2 years old and i know he did have a heart murmer......

[sandymere 8,263]

In layman’s terms the heart if a system of valves and chambers that efficiently moves blood around the body. Normal heart sounds, such as the double beat we are all used to, are the blood being passed from chamber to chamber through the valves. When the heart is still growing there is often a mismatch in sizes of valves etc that leads to blood flowing less efficiently through the system causing ‘turbulence’. The sound of this turbulence, a murmur, is graded 1 to 6 based on how loud it is. The louder the sound the more turbulence which equates to how effective or not the heart will be. As the heart matures these size mismatches usually resolve and the heart develops normal efficient flow so the sounds disappear. .

Occasionally there can be murmurs in adults and this although caused by similar turbulence will need proper evaluation by the vet.