Pet Medical Library

Respiratory and Heart

Chronic Coughing
Coughing that has been going on for sometime can be due to any number of causes, such as a narrowed windpipe, heart problems, allergies, lung problems, heartworm disease, bacterial pneumonia, fungal pneumonia and cancer just to name a few. Usually the only way to diagnose the problem and recommend appropriate treatment is to do some of the following test and procedures.

1.  Chest X-rays (Radiographs)

2.  Blood work

After the above tests have been done, the doctor can make recommendations about further testing such as a heart work-up, tracheal wash, fungal titer, etc.

Cardiology (Heart) Work-Up
During the course or your pet’s examination, a heart murmur or irregularity was heard.
Since it is impossible to determine the condition of your pet’s heart by listening alone, the following tests are necessary. These tests will help the doctors determine if more extensive testing is necessary and if medicine is needed now. Unfortunately, heart conditions are there to stay and changes will occur in the future. The following test will give the doctors a reference point to help determine how fast your pet’s heart condition is changing and what measures need to be taken to increase your pet’s quality of life.
For more information on heart disease click here. 

Tracheal Wash
A tracheal wash is a procedure to help diagnose respiratory disorders. The procedure involves surgically prepping the throat area, injecting a local anesthetic, inserting a tube in the wind pipe, injecting saline through this tube and drawing back the saline to obtain samples of the lung lining. The sample can then be use to determine the cell types, what type of bacteria is there and the best type of antibiotic to use.
Usually the treatment of the condition will be determined after the results have returned from the laboratory.

Congestive Heart Disease
CHD is fairly common in small breed older dogs.  A routine physical exam every 6 months is recommended to detect any murmurs or arrhthymias.  If detected, a full heart work-up will be recommended as there are medications that can slow the progression of heart disease in most cases.

Feline Heart Disease
Occasionally, cats develop a disease called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) in which the heart muscle becomes thickened.  This oftern occurs due to congenital or genetic tendencies in young or middle-aged cats.  Older cats may developed HCM due to kidney or thyroid problems.  Most dietary causes of heart disease in cats are now obscure as long as your cat eats a balanced cat food.

Heartworm Disease and Treatment
Heartworm disease is becoming more common in many parts of the United States. This parasite is transmitted by mosquitoes and the adults live in the right side of the dog's heart and nearby vessels (pulmonary arteries). Although still rare in Las Vegas because mosquitoes are rare, there are occasional cases, and you should treat your pet with a preventative if you travel anywhere outside the desert valley area. 

Cats can get heartworm; however if is much more uncommon and more difficult to diagnose and treat.  If you travel with our cat, there are safe, effective preventatives to use while traveling. 

The female worm produces large numbers of microscopic, immature heartworm called microfilaria. Heartworm are spread when a mosquito bites and infected dog and ingests the microfilaria with the blood. The mosquito then feeds on another pet, depositing the microfilaria. The microfilaria travel to the heart where they develop into adult worms. It takes six months from the time the dog is bitten by the infected mosquito before the dog becomes a new source of infective microfilaria.

Heartworm is diagnosed with an occult blood test, along with a microscopic examination of the blood if necessary. If worms are detected a radiograph of the chest and full blood work is needed. Neglecting to treat heartworm may result in heart failure and/or serious disease of the liver and kidneys. Untreated heartworm disease is usually fatal.

Treatment consists of  injections and oral medications. After treatment, your pet's activity should be severely restricted. After the entire therapy is completed, heartworm prevention is recommended.