Heart Murmur In Cats Uk

Heart murmurs A heart murmur means that in addition to normal lub-dub heart sounds the vet can also hear extra sounds when listening with a stethoscope.

Heart murmur in cats uk. An echocardiogram is necessary to differentiate between a heart murmur that is just due to excitement versus. Other symptoms for heart issues you can watch for during veterinary visits include a heart murmur abnormal lung sounds or irregular heartbeat. So a scan would tell the specialist whether these cats have a preexisting condition or not.

A specialist is your best bet to know for sure if its just a murmur or if there are actual heart issues. Heart murmurs in cats can be due to the excitement of the veterinary visit physiologic heart murmurs or due to underlying heart disease. Cats with benign or innocent murmurs will have a normal life span while cats with heart murmurs caused by life threatening structural defects of the heart may only live for months or a few years.

The good news is that approximately half of these cats will not go on to develop heart disease nor will it. In a normal heart cycle heartbeats create a sound in unison to the closing of heart valves. However the clinical signs may be subtle and not noticeable until the disease becomes advanced.

Symptoms of heart disease in cats include. It is a cardiac disorder that is a result of the hearts unstable and turbulent blood flow. However heart murmurs in cats cause a peculiar swishing sound whilst the heartbeats.

You need to ask your vet what grade would your cat be on. Although a murmur may signify a problem with the heart or its blood. This is the only test which can readily distinguish between different types of heart disease in cats.

If the cat is born with a hereditary defect in the heart wall or the valves of the heart this can cause a murmur that is present at birth. Often one of the first symptoms of heart disease. It may be insignificant however it could also be a symptom of a disease that requires treatment.