Sixteen week old puppy has an enlarged heart
 

On Saturday my husband took Chili to the vet to get his shots but he has also been gagging/coughing and it wasn't getting any better (we had taken him to the vet already for this twice) so I had my husband ask if it was a collapsing trachea. Well it turns out that when the vet did the X-ray to look at his trachea (it's fine) he noticed that Chili has an enlarged heart and a heart murmur that the vet said he could barely hear. The vet gave my husband antibiotics for Chili and sent him on his way. My husband didn't ask a single question :mad:. Do any of you have any experience with this? What are the antibiotics supposed to do? He doesn't have any other symptoms besides the wretching cough. From what I've read so far this is a death sentence and my heart is totally breaking. Is there any hope for my puppy?

I know this is worrisome. A heart murmur that is barely heard, is probably mild.

I would highly recommend going to a cardiologist for examination. I am actually surprised the vet did not refer Chili to one.

Presumably the antibiotics are for the cough; did the vet say what is causing the cough?

You can call the vet and ask questions from the most recent examination, and I would ask him to refer you to a cardiologist.

Lastly once you have a diagnosis, the breeder should be informed, as many heart conditions are hereditary.

I am so sorry that your puppy is sick

I agree with Gail about seeing a cardiologist and contacting your breeder. If I am not mistaken, Yorkies are sometimes misdiagnosed with an enlarged heart. I pray this will be the case with your pup.

The faint murmur might be something your pup can grow out of, as with human babies.

Don't give up hope yet. See the specialist for a second opinion.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Murmurs that can barely be heard, are mild, and are very common in toy puppies....they USUALLY resolve as the pup gets older.
I would absolutely go to a cardiologist for a work up...that heart may not actually be enlarged, just appearing as so in xray to a less trained eye.....I would LIKE to think if pups heart was really enlarged to a point where the vet wat concerned about prognosis, he would have taken the initiative and recommended a cardiologist see the baby.
And last, the breeder needs to be contacted about this. Enlarged hearts are a congenital issue, which could be life threatening....she needs to be alerted to the issue, your plans to see a cardiologist, and see if she steps up. THIS is where the "wheat is separated from the shaft", so to speak.

Thanks for the replies so far. We have contacted his breeder. She said she was sorry to hear about Chili and that if he didn't make it she would replace him. I guess thats nice of her but to me he is irreplaceable. As far as the cough from what I've read it's one of the symptoms of an enlarged heart. The first time I took him in for the cough I thought it was kennel cough because he started coughing a few days after the first time I took him to get his shots. I thought he had caught it at the vets office (it's extremely busy). They said he didn't have kennel cough that his throat was just irritated. I brought him back because it wasn't getting better and they said he was perfectly healthy and it was just something he would grow out of. This last time after doing the X-ray is when we got the enlarged heart diagnosis. I'm going to make him another appointment after this round of antibiotics just so I can find some answers and get a referral. The only cardiologist I can find is 6 hours away. I'm more then willing to drive that far to help my puppy but it just seems like there should be one closer.

He doesn't act like a sick puppy. He is just the opposite. He is very active and runs around like the Tasmanian devil. He loves to play with the kitties. He will pounce on them until they get annoyed enough to chase him. And he has a rubber chicken that he shakes back and forth like he is trying to kill it. I just want him to be okay.

Medford are you close to there? Phoenix Animal Hospital has cardiology.

I am so sorry why I know it is common for many breeders to offer a replacement puppy, to me that is no guarantee at all. Breeders know that more folks a huge percentage don't want a REPLACEMENT they want their puppy to get well, and might need help with some funds to do this.

I really want you to go to the cardiologist, vets unless hugely experienced in toy breeds and reading puppy heart xrays, well are just not expert enough.

He the vet can send the Xrays on ahead. You call that office get a referral to the closest to you cardiologist and book your boy in.

You don't need to worry a moment longer than is necessary.

You can also inquire when you call about the consult costs. But it is going to be a tad expensive, maybe $500 or so if you get an echocardiogram done.

:thumbup:
When Momo was a puppy, he had an xray done bc his kennel cough wouldn't go away. It showed an enlarged heart but he had no murmur. We got referred to a cardiologist & he had a echocardiogram/ untrasound of the heart, it cost around $500. The test showed that his heart had no problems. The cardiologist told me that Yorkies & small breeds have a heart shadow on xrays, making the heart appear larger (from what I recall, this was 5 years ago). Momo's most recent xray showed the right side of his heart was larger than the left but his vet didn't seem concerned bc he has no murmur & his heart sounded 'excellent'.
But since your guy has a heart murmur, I think he shoud be seen by a cardiologist. They are very knowledgeable since they specialize in cardiology. The care & attention you & your little one will get is worth every penny. In the long run, better than going to several different vets to get an answer which will be more expensive & you might not get any answers. Hope all goes well & Chili will indeed grow out if it.

I owned a puppy who was misdiagnosed with an enlarged heart by an emergency vet. I took him to a cardiologist who explained in vet school...they are given heart diagrams (essentially pictures) and use those as a comparison. She said as a breed ...yorkies have larger hearts.
But we all know that don't we? :)

For the kennel cough...use a warm mist vaporizer or take puppy into a steam filled bathroom. The warm steam helps a great deal.

Good post bch. Warm mist does help.

Still the echocardiogram needs doing, just hope our poster will go that route.

Chili had another appointment with the regular vet this morning. He took another X-ray and said his heart looks smaller. He also said his coughing "isn't the heart cough". He said Chili is still coughing because he has an irritated trachea and he got a shot of an anti-inflammatory. The dr. said there isn't a reason to see a heart specialist. We are supposed to call him and let him know if Chili is still coughing by Tuesday (he wants to know if the anti-inflammatory worked). He also said we could give him a few drops of robutussion (sp) DM. I just don't know :confused:. I hope the dr is right about Chili's heart. For now I'm going to trust him. I'm not sure how long, but for now.

We were told that our pomchi, Max, had a heart murmur when he was a puppy. He is 15 now. He has a few other health issues that are not related to this. But so far he has lived a long happy life.

See this dismissiveness and/or minimizing bothers me... OP yes often times its mild and resolves, but sometimes it can be very serious and should not be dismissed mild or not....see a cardiologist immediately. No beating around a bush, get a good solid cardiologist and get a good solid diagnosis and prognosis. Trust me, I've been there.

Similar issues just not the murmur
 

Hello all fellow Yorkie lovers. I adopted a 3 month old puppy 2 days ago and I love her! :p However our story isn't going as planned. I took her to the vet today and informed them of her cough, sort of like honking at times sniffling, chocking or throwing up. :( They told me that her physical was A ok but if I was worried they would go further and take an x-ray. I said yes to the X-ray as I am very worried for her well being. When the Vet came back she informed me that her heart looked larger than normal but not other symptoms of having a heart issue is evident.

I am not sure what to do at this point since the breeder doesn't want to do the ultrasound I may have to do one myself. I just needed to get to the bottom of this issue which I thought was a collapsed trachea but instead the X-ray showed an enlarged heart. Does anyone else have this issue or have gone through this issue? Please help!

Please dont panic right this minute....it is NOT uncommon for vets to say a yorkies heart looks enlarged on xray....when in actuality, it is not actually enlarged. THAT could be why the breeder is not in a panic over this! I would find myself a cardiologist that is FAMILIAR with yorkies....if you are not able to do that, is there a vet school near you? A cardiologist from/at a vet school will be more informed and up to date on this. Try not to worry immediately about this, especially if she is asymptomatic....it could very easily be just fine under closer review from a specialist! Please keep us informed as we actually do worry with our members when it comes to their babies.....