I work in Cardiology. Heart murmurs are graded according to how loud they are. They are graded 1/6 through 6/6 with 6 being the loudest murmur and the grade 1 being the mildest murmur. My doctor told me that you can almost hear a grade 6 murmur across the room.
With people some heart murmurs are benign and harmless - others require treatment. (I have a murmur - and have always been told not to worry about it.)
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Here is a great explanation about heart murmurs from a vet:
When it is possible, economically, for the owner of a puppy with a heart
murmur to have a cardiac ultrasound (echo) exam done, I think that is the best course of action. It is unquestionable that many murmurs that are present congenitally will never cause any problem during a dog's lifetime. However, it is also definitely true that some do. Ultrasound exam is the best way to evaluate heart murmurs because it gives a good idea of how much of the blood flow in the heart is being misdirected and also identifies readily
where the defect is that is allowing the blood flow to produce a murmur.
When it isn't possible for a pet owner to comfortably pay for cardiac
ultrasound exam, we do our best to evaluate the overall situation and
advise the owner based on clinical signs present. If a puppy is gaining
weight normally, is active and doesn't tire readily, has a normal red blood
cell count adjusted for his or her age and isn't showing any other signs of
heart disease, we advise just waiting to see what happens. If there are
definite clinical signs of heart disease, in addition to the murmur, we
push much more strongly for advanced testing.
Since cardiac ultrasound exam is by far the most effective method of
evaluating heart murmurs, I'd skip things like ECGs to get the ultrasound
exam, if a choice has to be made between tests.
Hope this helps some.
Mike Richards, DVM
PS: - If cardiac studies and workups for a dog are anywhere near what they cost for people - please be advised that if there is a serious problem, you may really not be able to afford the surgery.
I just read about Lance Armstrong's dog's heart surgery (valve surgery). It cost $10,000. but, money was no object for him.
If I paid $10,000 for surgery. I would also have to pay travel expenses to wherever they do it - and lose a lot of work time, etc., also.
I am hoping that your dog's murmur is not harmful and that he can live happily ever after with it.
Let us know what you learn!
Carol Jean |