12
Jul
Gibbons explains that some symptoms of heart disease in cats that may or may not be present with a murmur include. We recommend baseline testing for puppies or kittens with a heart murmur that is greater than a grade 2 and still present after 5 to 6 months of age.
Murmurs may be noticed when a cat is stressed and the heart rate has increased but be gone a few minutes later when a cat has calmed down.
How long do cats live with a heart murmur. My cat Arthur has a bad heart murmur he is about 7 years old and very healthy my vet said as long as he doesnt get out of breath and is generally fairly active then he suspects that he was born with it and has had to cope with it. I was told that his life expectancy would be no different to a cat without a heart murmur. The murmur may first appear at 6-8 weeks of age and a kitten with an innocent heart murmur will usually outgrow it by about 4-5 months of age.
This type of murmur is benign not harmful. Some normal adult cats may have an intermittent heart murmur that shows. To further complicate matters heart murmurs in cats can come and go being heard on one day but not the next.
Murmurs may be noticed when a cat is stressed and the heart rate has increased but be gone a few minutes later when a cat has calmed down. They are graded according to their intensity usually grade one to six but the grade can also change on a daily basis. These benign murmurs are generally low in intensity and dont occur with other signs or symptoms that indicate a disease or illness.
Innocent murmurs are common in young kittensespecially when theyre going through a growth spurtand generally stop at around 4 or 5 months of age. Many healthy cats with a heart murmur never develop any problems with their heart and go on to lead long happy and healthy lives. The prognosis depends on the cause of the heart murmur.
Heart murmurs are graded 1-6 with 1 being of the least concern and 6 being of the most concern. In the event that heart murmurs are innocent then your vet may wish only to monitor your cat. Regular monitoring ensures that no complications arise and your cat remains relatively healthy.
This periodic re-examination may occur every few weeks to every few months. Also how long can a cat live with congestive heart failure. Certainly most cats have a life expectancy of between six and 18 months.
And up to to 3 years with proper medication. With a diagnosis of cardiomyopathy the survival rate reduces to between three months and three years. Usually these murmurs are found during puppy and kitten exams.
Sometimes these murmurs can only be detected later in life. The severity and causes of congenital murmurs vary widely. We recommend baseline testing for puppies or kittens with a heart murmur that is greater than a grade 2 and still present after 5 to 6 months of age.
Some severe heart conditions may not be associated with any heart murmur at all and some quite loud murmurs may occur with relatively small defects. Causes of heart murmurs. Although the presence of a murmur usually implies an underlying heart condition murmurs can sometimes have other causes.
In young kittens so-called innocent heart murmurs may be heard as an incidental finding. These are usually no longer. Gibbons explains that some symptoms of heart disease in cats that may or may not be present with a murmur include.
Sometimes though cats with heart murmurs or heart disease may not exhibit any symptoms. Many cats show no symptoms of heart disease says Gibbons. Kittens with low grade murmurs for example may require little or no treatment and the murmur may resolve itself within six months.
Longer term management of congestive heart failure Following diagnosis of congestive heart failure echocardiography should be performed. Although most cats with heart disease have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in fact there is huge phenotypic variability and treatment options are best guided using information obtained from echocardiographic assessment. Medications such as beta-blockers diltiazem or diuretics and ACE inhibitors may be prescribed depending on echocardiogram findings and your cats overall health.
Many cats can live for many years with stabilized heart disease. Generally cats with higher grades of heart murmurs have other physical symptoms if your vet suspects a cardiac issue. These might include weight loss lack of appetite trouble breathing pale mucous membranes and lethargy.
Heart murmurs in kittens often disappear by the time of. Even cats with a more severe murmur accompanied by Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can live for many years if they respond well to medical treatment. However if a cat with a heart murmur develops congestive heart failure their life expectancy will be about 6 to 18 months.
Cats with congestive heart failure can live anywhere from a week to three years depending on severity of the disease and treatment. The right time to euthanize a cat with congestive hear failure is completely dependent on the severity of the diagnosis as well as the severity of symptoms. Nor are they a disease.
Murmurs are simply an abnormality in the sound of the heart. Many cats live their entire lives with murmurs that cause no problems and in fact a murmur may only be detected through routine vet checkups. Murmurs can be congenital meaning the cat is born with it or a.