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SnowWa · 03-05-2006, 10:06 PM

QUOTE: The vets only comment was that he could be going into a deep sleep and then waking up fast but his heart can't catch up with the speed of waking and thus making him faint.
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Are you positive your vet said this???? This is totally impossible. The beating of our heart is a totally involuntary action - We don't control this nor do any of our activies - Our heart works (without our help) whether we are awake or asleep, whether we wake up suddenly or slowly and regardless of almost any activity we can perform. I, personally, have never heard of such a thing - and I have worked in a cardiology office for almost 20 years. I can promise you that after typing tens of thousands of reports on our patients, I have never heard of anything like this.

There are heart problems that can cause people to faint (arrhythmias) - but as one poster mentioned, stiffness and rigidness are not associated with this problem. (Just out of curosity - if you can - check your pup's heart rate and heart rhythm when this happens. Try to see if it is a normal rate and a normal rhythm. I know this may be hard to do - but do your best. I think if you listen to your dog's heart rate occasionally, you'll get familiar with what it is normally. Then during one of these episodes, you'll be better able to tell if it's different.) But - for all I know - it may be normal for a person to have a faster rate during a seizure also.

I like the others (I shouldn't be playing vet) think it sounds more like a seizure. Your pup is having these so infrequently - once or twice a year -(if she's perfectly healthy the rest of the time) --I'm not sure I would spend hundreds of dollars (or more) to get a more definitive diagnosis.

You wouldn't want to put her on any medication to stop something that occurs this infrequently (since these medications have side effects). If she is perfectly healthy and happy, at your next vet visit, ask your vet about "doing nothing" since these episodes happen so infrequently.

Get a little more information from your vet - we don't want you worried about this....

Carol Jean

03-05-2006, 10:06 PM	#7
SnowWa YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: USA Posts: 2,992	QUOTE: The vets only comment was that he could be going into a deep sleep and then waking up fast but his heart can't catch up with the speed of waking and thus making him faint. ------------------------------------------------------ Are you positive your vet said this???? This is totally impossible. The beating of our heart is a totally involuntary action - We don't control this nor do any of our activies - Our heart works (without our help) whether we are awake or asleep, whether we wake up suddenly or slowly and regardless of almost any activity we can perform. I, personally, have never heard of such a thing - and I have worked in a cardiology office for almost 20 years. I can promise you that after typing tens of thousands of reports on our patients, I have never heard of anything like this. There are heart problems that can cause people to faint (arrhythmias) - but as one poster mentioned, stiffness and rigidness are not associated with this problem. (Just out of curosity - if you can - check your pup's heart rate and heart rhythm when this happens. Try to see if it is a normal rate and a normal rhythm. I know this may be hard to do - but do your best. I think if you listen to your dog's heart rate occasionally, you'll get familiar with what it is normally. Then during one of these episodes, you'll be better able to tell if it's different.) But - for all I know - it may be normal for a person to have a faster rate during a seizure also. I like the others (I shouldn't be playing vet) think it sounds more like a seizure. Your pup is having these so infrequently - once or twice a year -(if she's perfectly healthy the rest of the time) --I'm not sure I would spend hundreds of dollars (or more) to get a more definitive diagnosis. You wouldn't want to put her on any medication to stop something that occurs this infrequently (since these medications have side effects). If she is perfectly healthy and happy, at your next vet visit, ask your vet about "doing nothing" since these episodes happen so infrequently. Get a little more information from your vet - we don't want you worried about this.... Carol Jean __________________ http://tinypic.com/ipxhmb.jpg A Yorkie is worth a thousand words.