Enlarged Heart?
 

Hi there, i'm new to this forum as my yorkie came back from the vet today with an enlarged heart!? and a lower heart rate of 80bpm?! The vet has recommended an ultrasound. does this seem out of place to you? The x-ray showed his heart was 1/3rd the size of his body? we are quite worried. I thought you might be able to shed some light on the subject for us. Thanks a billion Rach and Sebastian.

I don't know but I am praying it will be ok.

Welcome to YT. I'm orry to hear about Sebastion. I cannot give you any advice, but I hope they are able to do something for him.

I'm sorry to hear about your baby's problem. I think you are right to be concerned. Thank goodness you had a Vet that was observant. I say do the Ultrasound and anything else you have to do to diagnose the problem. I don't know what it is, but if your Yorkie is young, it's probably a heart condition he was born with. I'm sure there is alot of information on the internet-some good information, some not, so be careful. Pippa and Scout send Yorkie hugs to Sebastian!

Let me say first, that my experience with enlarged hearts is with humans, not dogs - so some of what I say might be incorrect in relation to dogs - but I DO know that dogs sometimes develop enlarged hearts.

An enlarged heart usually means congestive heart failure (CHF). The heart become enlarged because it is working too hard to pump out the blood throughout the body. It is exactly the same as when you lift weights to build up your muscles and make the larger - the heart is a muscle and when it is overworked, it gets larger. Unfortunately, that is not a good thing for the heart.

It can happen if the heart was attacked by a virus, or if there are birth defects in the heart, or if the dog has experienced a heart attack.

I'm confused by the low heart rate though, because the heart rate is often faster in CHF in an effort to get more blood to the body.

If your baby is older, this may be a part of aging - that does not mean that all older dogs have it, but sometimes it develops as dogs (and humans) age.

If your baby is younger, this is not a good sign, although CHF can be controlled in some cases with heart medication.

You definitely need the ultra sound and need a vet who is well versed in canine heart problems.

Good luck, let us know what happens.

Welcome to you and Sebastian...... I don't have any input, I am just sending a warm welcome, hugs, and prayers that Bastie will be ok :)

Good luck to you, please keep us posted.

I am sorry to hear you are going through this. I'm afraid that I really can't shed much light either. I've had two dogs with enlarged hearts but both were large dogs (approx 100+ pounds) and both were 10 years of age. One died of a heart attack and the other was eventually diagnoised and died of Hemangiosarcoma. I recommend the ultrasound to give you much more information.

Please keep us posted. You are in our prayers.

I had a mal Yorkie, Zorro that was diagnosed at 5 years with an enlarged heart and he lived to be 13 years old. I do not know how enlarged it was but it was 23 years ago and better technology and medicines exist. Good luck and Iwould do the ultrasound it may ease your mind or at least help them decide the plan of treatment.

I will be praying for you both, Best wishes. I wished I could help you.

Thanks for your replies. Bastie is 16months old, the vet picked up the heart during an exam for his stomach upset. I guess we're trying to get an idea if his heart is in danger/enlarged or not/regular. The vet is unsure if the heart is meant to look like that as she doesn't have anything to compare it to. Is it just that is body is small so the heart looks large? We'll go ahead with the ultrasound. Any useful links to yokie medical info?

Thanks again, we'll let you know how we get on.

Its not because his body is small that the heart is large . It is a malformation of the heart .

I'm so sorry to hear that Sebastian is under the weather. We will keep him in our prayers. Please let us know what the ultrasound shows.

Welcome to YT. I am sorry to hear Sebastion is under the weather. It's lucky the vet found out about his heart. I hope things work out and your wee little guy is ok. Prayers and hugs for you both.

My yorkie was said to have an enlarged heart back in Feb. 05 when I was on vacation ... I told my home vet but he did not affirm it until this past July, I did have the ultrasound done as a baseline.
They say she has a heart murmur but on a scale of 1-6, shez only a 1, so no meds are needed. I say YES have the ultrasound done to give you peace of mind.
Debbie

Getting a baseline is a great reason - especially if he is 16 months and showing no troubles. You are in our prayers.