Momo has Cardiomegaly aka Enlarged Heart

[mimimomo]

I found this out when he was a puppy, vet saw an enlarged heart in an x-ray. I took him to a cardiologist & he had an echocardiogram (? or was it electrocardiogram) an ultrasound of the heart, which showed that his heart had no abnormalities or defects. So Momo has been asymptomatic all these years & still no heart murmurs. He's now showing symptoms @ 5.5 years old.
I've recently noticed that his tongue turns purplish & he gets out of breath very easily, pants a lot after running up & down the stairs. He's also been doing the expression cough which is indicative of heart problems. His last x-ray was done about 2 months ago & it showed the whole heart enlarged, but the right one was much much bigger than the left side. He's scheduled to have an EKG next week. We also had our annual heartworm test & he is neg.

Our current new vet has all the equipment to do an EKG in house, but the Echo must be done by a specialist that they call in. Should I do the EKG @ the vet's & use their specialist for the Echo (if needed)? Or should I take him to a specialist/ cardiologist? I am hoping & praying that meds can help Momo & he doesn't have congestive heart failure. We sure would appreciate your prayers & any advice you have to give!

Just a little background about Momo & how we got to be together. He was advertised as 'teacup' so I went to go see him out of curiosity. There was a girl w/her toddler son & another Yorkie puppy who was twice as big as Momo. Momo seemed kind of shy & timid (he turned out to be the total opposite loll!), was very skinny & tiny (he's a widdle piggie & is 5#'s). The girl said she was selling them for her 'uncle', but she was probably a re-seller/broker & Momo likely came from a puppy mill. The puppies were gated off in the kitchen, but her son was throwing big heavy toys @ them. I felt so bad for the puppies, I had to get them out of there. She said the other puppy was already sold, going to a couple in San Diego so I had to 'save' Momo. PLEASE DO NOT buy from brokers, re-sellers, pet stores, back yard breeders & online (puppy mills)! All you'll get is lots of heart ache & an empty wallet!

[ladyjane]

Personally, I would go to a cardiologist. I am sorry little Momo is having issues like this...hopefully it is something that can be controlled with meds.

[107barney]

I hope this is a mistake. I had two vets tell me that Barney had an enlarged heart based on his xrays. I took him to a cardiologist, and when I did she shrugged saying that every yorkie coming in has had their vet say that it's an enlarged heart but it is because their hearts are big and their chest cavity small creating a shadow on xrays. She did an ultrasound, and she was right, he has a normal heart. Barney also coughs up a lung when he runs, and it's allergies and reverse sneezing.

I hope the same is true for your Momo, that his heart is healthy!!

Personally, I would take him to a cardiologist and not do the in-house thing. I would let the cardiologist do all the testing at this point and not waste any more money with the regular vet.

[Maximo]

I am very sorry to hear that Momo is showing symptoms. Praying that meds will help him.

I don't know about heart problems with dogs, but with humans, an echo would be recommended no matter what the EKG shows. If it would be less expensive to have them done together, I would skip the general vet and go directly to the specialist.

I will keep Momo in my prayers.

[mimimomo]

That is what the cardiologist told me years ago, that Yorkies have a heart shadow & that is probably what Momo has since his heart looked & sounded good. But in the current x-ray, the right side was much bigger (about 30%) than the left. His short of breath & purplish tongue is not a good sign. He also reverse sneezes a lot, but I've recently noticed him coughing when lying down & when playing tug of war, like he's trying to clear his air way. The thing that confuses me is that he has no heart murmur & his heart sounds good, according to vet. Vet didn't even bring up any further tests (I had to ask him) he did mention that Momo could've been in an awkward position when they took the x-ray.
I am leaning on going w/a specialist...

[107barney]

Originally Posted by mimimomo

That is what the cardiologist told me years ago, that Yorkies have a heart shadow & that is probably what Momo has since his heart looked & sounded good. But in the current x-ray, the right side was much bigger (about 30%) than the left. His short of breath & purplish tongue is not a good sign. He also reverse sneezes a lot, but I've recently noticed him coughing when lying down & when playing tug of war, like he's trying to clear his air way. The thing that confuses me is that he has no heart murmur & his heart sounds good, according to vet. Vet didn't even bring up any further tests (I had to ask him) he did mention that Momo could've been in an awkward position when they took the x-ray.
I am leaning on going w/a specialist...

Yes I think you will be much happier if you do. Let the specialist look at the X-ray and also assess his symptoms and do the additional testing. I am going to pray the vet made a mistake. Also, the short of breath and purplish tongue -- was it your Momo that you thought had seizures? Teddy gets blue tongue when he seizures.

[spiritwings1202]

Sending prayers for your Momo my heart goes out to you..He is blessed that you rescued him..

[mimimomo]

Originally Posted by 107barney

Yes I think you will be much happier if you do. Let the specialist look at the X-ray and also assess his symptoms and do the additional testing. I am going to pray the vet made a mistake. Also, the short of breath and purplish tongue -- was it your Momo that you thought had seizures? Teddy gets blue tongue when he seizures.

Vet diagnosed him as 'cardiomegaly', but he didn't tell me...I found out from the receptionist! I'm actually waiting for his phone call so I can ask him to refer us to a specialist.
Yes, that was Momo http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sic...d-seizure.html
the same vet said it probably wasn't a seizure...I'll also ask him about the purplish tongue & short of breath when he calls. I notice it when we're outside walking & he's panting, he has such a long tongue for such a small mouth! I offer him water, he'll drink it & his tongue turns pink again...

Originally Posted by spiritwings1202

Sending prayers for your Momo my heart goes out to you..He is blessed that you rescued him..

Thank you, but I didn't technically rescue him, I purchased him loll.

[kjc]

Praying all goes well with Momo and the meds can help... Hugs, Kathy

[spiritwings1202]

I meant you rescued him from the little boys throwing toys His environment! lol
He was rescued from and unsafe situation who knows what could of happened. He is blessed to have such a loving mommy

[yorkietalkjilly]

I'm so sorry to hear this but a cardiologist treats this condition all the time, I'm pretty sure. I sure hope they can get his Doppler and get him on a good treatment regimen to help his oxygen levels and pulmonary congestion and he'll feel better. My sister's former dog had this and he was quite overweight, too, which didn't help. But meds helped him so much. I'll be praying for little Momo. It's been tough for you all lately. I hope things begin to go better for you and you know I'll be praying for little Momo.

[My lil friend]

I am so sorry that Momo is having heart issues. 3yrs ago Skittles (6 lb poodle) was diagnosed with a heart murmur and enlarged heart. He has been taking Pimobendin to help his heart pump more efficently. He is able to run and chase Mina. We call him whe world oldest puppy because he is 11yrs old now. Only recently has he begun to slow down,cough when he has been running or drinks his water to fast. I hope that a specialest can help.

[lynzy420]

Originally Posted by mimimomo

That is what the cardiologist told me years ago, that Yorkies have a heart shadow & that is probably what Momo has since his heart looked & sounded good. But in the current x-ray, the right side was much bigger (about 30%) than the left. His short of breath & purplish tongue is not a good sign. He also reverse sneezes a lot, but I've recently noticed him coughing when lying down & when playing tug of war, like he's trying to clear his air way. The thing that confuses me is that he has no heart murmur & his heart sounds good, according to vet. Vet didn't even bring up any further tests (I had to ask him) he did mention that Momo could've been in an awkward position when they took the x-ray.
I am leaning on going w/a specialist...

This thread is difficult for me, having recently lost Mia who did present with murmers, enlarged heart etc as a puppy....she seemed to be outgrowing everything, her last tests with the cardiologist was good, I saw the pics...one can never be too careful when the heart is at question; follow orders do what you can and love and love your pup...(((((prayers for you both))))))

[Connie]

Oh Jenny...this makes me so sad. I will be praying for your precious Momo. Hugs to you! I hope things look better after seeing the specialist!

[Wylie's Mom]

Oh Jenny - I'm so sorry Momo is having symptoms that might be related to the heart. I don't have advice, except to say that if you can see a Cardio - that would get you the very best and most specific information. Cardios will know exponentially more than a generalist, when it comes to the heart...they will understand all the nuances that go w/ HF (heart failure) too...and there are many.

You two will be in my thoughts and I'm hoping for the very best outcome .