I have a 3yr old male pom who we took to the vet and she thinks she hears a heart murmur. I just lost another pom puppy to a heart defect.could my dog still live a long and healthy life with a mild heart murmur? also could the vet be wrong because she "thinks" she hears a murmur...
Answers:
Many dogs live fine with "mild" heart murmurs. You need to find out the reason for the heart murmur: congenital defect, endocarditis, etc. An ultrasound will be your best diagnostic tool to find out what valve is defective and causing the murmur. The vet should give you a grade for the murmur...which is on a scale of 1-6. The murmur will probably get worse with age but poms can live ~17yrs or so. Just ask the vet what grade murmur it is and the best way to manage it!
A mild heart murmur doesn't have to be life threatening, but I think I would take care to not ever exercise it too heavily or let it get too excited. Yes, the vet could be wrong because murmurs are kind of tricky to diagnose (especially if it IS mild), but better to let you know than not.
The Vet could be wrong-----------------then again she is the Vet, not me. If you dont like what this Vet has told you then if your dog is at all IMPORTANT to you you will take it to another Vet for a 2nd opinion .
Heart murmurs are actually pretty common in dogs. Only serious murmurs are caused by heart disease. Some are just caused by turbulence in the blood flow through the heart.
Your dog should have a chest x-ray, ECG and an ultrasound of the heart to determine the degree of the heart murmur.
Best to get it done, both for your dog's health and your own peace of mind. We always tend to think the worst when we don't know for sure what's wrong. Hopefully, your pom hasn't got anything serious wrong!!
I would not worry. I was told that my beagle had a heart murmur seven years ago and now he is 11 and just fine. Mild murmurs are very common and nothing to be concerned about. However, if your dog ever has surgery be sure to notify the vet because they will have to monitor your dog a little closer.
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