Grades of heart murmur

[catcmartin]

Guys it was mentioned last year at Charlie's vac booster and checkup that he had a slight heart murmur.  He is now 11/y/o and I took him to the vet yesterday as we felt he was getting a bit breathless with exercise.  The vet has said yes things have moved on a bit and he now requires medication.  She has put him on Vetmedin 5mg tabs half a tab every 12 hours.  I have to take him back in 7 days to see how he is getting on with the meds.  I guess I need to know what questions i need to ask when I take him back.  Is one of them what grade of murmur does he now have.  Does anyone know of anything else I can do for my boy, or what I need to watch for. Any info would be appreciated. 

[bluegirl]

Heart murmurs go from grade 1 to grade 6 (6 being the most severe). The vet will have listened to his heart and given him the meds to help take some workload off his heart. Being breathless and not wanting to exercise can be a sign of heart disease. Keeping his diet good and his weight on the lower side will help to save his heart from undue strain. Exercise is good for any one with a heart issue but strenuous activities which would be taxing should be avoided.
Herbal remedies such as honey and or rosemary can be given daily, will not interact with any meds the vet gives and can also help the heart to increase tone which may help with his condition.

You can ask to be referred to a heart specialist who will be able to run more thorough tests and  give you a more detailed summary of his condition and prognosis but in most cases your local vet is able to manage heart disease issues.

[catcmartin]

Thanks Bluegirl.  We already keep Charlie on a low fat diet due to a pancreatic issue a few years ago and his weight is already on the lower side due to his back issues and spinal surgery.  Normally Charlie and his dad would spend a couple of hours 3 times a week finding golf balls on the golf course in addition to his normal walks, which is more strenuous for him than a normal walk.  That is stopped till we see how he will react to the meds.  I will look at the honey, rosemary remedies for him. 

[wendyt]

My 13 year old CKCS Chester has a grade 4 heart murmur and has been on Vetmedin since he was 7. When he was diagnosed I was really worried and a bit over protective but gradually adjusted his exercise to suit. He has managed very well over the last six years and his heart murmur doesn't seem to cause him too many problems. I have always kept his weight down as he is quite a large Cavie, and I think this has helped. The main things to look out for are coughing, being breathless and struggling with exercise.

[catcmartin]

Many Thanks Wendyt I guess we are a bit protective of him as we lost our oldie ESS last year.  We are adjusting his exercise now till we see how he does on the meds.  I will ask the vet next week what grade she reckons his heart murmur is just now.  She just said it was now well defined.  His weight is lowish and we always try to keep it that way due to his spinal issues.  I know we do worry about them but then that is part of being a cocker person.