I wanted to echo the sentiments that she needs to be seen by a cardiologist. A grade 4 murmur can be caused by a lot of things. The murmur and grading is actually a description of the sound the turbulence makes. They are graded from 1-6, with 1 being just barely audible and 6 being exceedingly loud. Put two doctors/vets side by side on the same murmur and they probably won't agree on the grading.
The reason for putting them on blood thinners (which really don't thin the blood, but interfere with the clotting mechanisms) is because the physical churning of the blood makes them more likely to throw a clot to the lungs or brain, which are often fatal. A grade 4 murmur would have quite a bit of turbulence associated with it and a high risk of throwing an embolism.
__________________ Don't get your knickers in a knot. Nothing is solved and it just makes you walk funny.  |