dog and cat with heart

Preventive cardiac screening for your pets

Why is it important?

Roughly 20% of all emergencies in dogs and cats are due to heart disease — acquired or congenital. Let us stay one step ahead: be prepared for the early or late onset of congenital conditions, and prevent the appearance and progression of acquired ones.

What can the symptoms of a heart problem be?

Lethargy, tiring easily, rapid breathing, shortness of breath, bluish mucous membranes, a gagging cough — owners often assume it is a stuck bone or another foreign body in the larynx — a swollen abdomen, subcutaneous oedema, collapse, arrhythmia, or a strong heartbeat felt on the side of the chest behind the elbow, among others.

In cats, these symptoms are absent for most of the course of heart disease, and their appearance is a sign of very severe cardiac damage.

What are the most common congenital heart diseases, and who is predisposed to them?

All animals can be affected, but certain breeds and species suffer most often from:

  • Myxomatous valve degeneration (CVHD / MVD) — small dog breeds up to 10 kg such as Pomeranian, Spitz, Pinscher, Chihuahua, Yorkshire Terrier, Cavalier Spaniel, Pekingese, Dachshund, Bichon, Poodle, Schnauzer and others, including mixed breeds.

  • Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) — large dog breeds such as:

Dobermann, Great Dane, German Shepherd, Caucasian Shepherd, Alabai, Labrador, Golden Retriever, St Bernard, Mastiff and others. Among the smaller breeds, Cocker Spaniels are the exception that is also affected.

Cats also suffer from this disease; sometimes it is linked to a taurine (an amino acid) deficiency in the diet.

  • Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) — one of the most common congenital heart diseases in cats, which stays hidden from owners with no early symptoms. It is more frequent in Maine Coon, Persian, British and long-haired cats.

In dogs it occurs more rarely as a primary congenital disease and is more often secondary.

  • Arrhythmia and disorders of impulse formation and conduction in the different parts of the heart — all species and breeds.

  • Other congenital abnormalities of the heart’s structure — heart defects.

What are the most common causes of acquired (secondary) heart disease?

High blood pressure, obesity, kidney disease, diabetes, disturbed function of the thyroid, adrenal or pituitary glands, some infectious diseases such as parvovirosis, Lyme disease and septicaemia, and deficiencies of calcium, potassium, magnesium, taurine, carnitine and others.

For example, high blood pressure can lead to thickening of the heart muscle; the same happens with an overactive thyroid gland, which is common in cats. Taurine deficiency in a cat’s diet can weaken the heart muscle and dilate the heart; magnesium deficiency can cause arrhythmia.

Last but not least there is dirofilariasis (heartworm), caused by a roundworm parasite that lives and reproduces in the major blood vessels and the heart. Infection happens through mosquito bites, and the consequences are quite severe. The best defence is prevention, like the one provided by regular internal and external parasite control.

Correcting all of these causes will improve your pet’s heart function and overall condition.

What does the preventive cardiac examination include?

The methods used during the clinical examination are: auscultation of the heart and chest, an electrocardiogram, blood pressure measurement, X-rays, blood tests for parasites and cardiac markers, and — the most accurate and precise method — echocardiography, performed with a special Doppler ultrasound machine (with dedicated cardiac-analysis functions) by a specialist cardiologist. The procedure causes the patient no pain or discomfort.

Who performs the examination?

Dr Rosen Tsokev

Dr Tsokev was born on 28 November 1984.

In 2009 he graduated in veterinary medicine from the University of Forestry, Sofia.

From 2008 to 2016 he worked at the Blue Cross veterinary clinic.

In 2010 and 2011 he completed two consecutive courses in practical echocardiography with one of the world’s leading specialists — June Boon, a founder of veterinary echocardiography.

Since 2016 he has been part of the team and a founder of City Veterinary Clinic.

Dr Rosen Tsokev is one of the first veterinarians in Bulgaria performing detailed cardiac ultrasound with the functional specifics of an echocardiograph.

  • The price?

The full preventive cardiac examination costs 90 lv. and includes: an examination, an ECG (electrocardiogram) and echocardiography.

A test for heartworm (dirofilariasis) — a disease transmitted by mosquitoes — can be added. The test uses a blood sample and costs 30 lv.