[107barney]

My dog 15.5 year old Barney has had a heart murmur forever. He's on a small dose of an ACE inhibitor. I have been told for a year that he is "about to go into heart failure" and just yesterday he bolted across the yard without getting tired when I offered him a cookie. These dogs can live a long time with proper management. As for whether to test more, I would find out what the grade of the murmur is. I only took Barney to a cardiologist when he was at a grade II going into a III. He didn't have chamber enlargement until last year when it was a solid Grade III. That's when he went on his meds. He's now a grade IV and no other meds have been added yet. When he goes into failure they'll add Pimobendan and Lasix. He could live a year after that. Unfortunately my dog has a severely collapsing trachea which will probably take him down before the heart does. Anyway I would talk to you vet about further testing. We usually do xrays (3-view) which can be costly and also once a year echocardiogram (also pricey). I have only done two so far. Did your vet give meds for the cough due to the trachea? If the lungs were clear, then perhaps the vet was concerned that the cough was not the heart at all. What med did they give you?