# Heart Issues



## Sue/Rico (Dec 8, 2013)

Hello, 

Just wondering if any of you have a Havanese with heart issues? And how you handled it?

My Havanese - Rico - is 6 and will be 7 in a few months. He was recently diagnosed with a heart murmur - stage 2-3 - and he had an echo and x-rays and so far his heart is okay - but he does have mild to moderate mitral insufficiency. He has no symptoms except the heart murmur and he needs no medication for his heart is compensating for now, but it really shook me up. 

Anyone else dealing with this? 

Sue


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Sue/Rico said:


> Hello,
> 
> Just wondering if any of you have a Havanese with heart issues? And how you handled it?
> 
> ...


Not in my dog, but I have a heart murmur myself that sounds similar. I've had it for 25 years now, and it hasn't gotten any worse!


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## Sue/Rico (Dec 8, 2013)

Thanks, Krandall. I just was so upset. It came out of nowhere so it was a shocker. He's healthy and active and we train together and then out of the blue he had a heart murmur. Glad to hear yours is fine. I'm hoping Rico takes after you.  Thanks for answering.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

Sorry to hear about your issue. Here is an article on this, Signs of Heart Disease in Dogs


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## Sue/Rico (Dec 8, 2013)

Thanks, Dave - for your response and for the article. Rico shows no symptoms and the murmur was just picked up at a regular appt. I was lucky because they did the echo and x-rays the very next day. So far, so good and he needs no medications but the echo did show issues with his mitral valve - not serious yet. I'm reducing his weight - he's not overweight or obese - but the Vet suggested I bring him down a pound or two - to keep him really lean. And he's very active. He has 5 titles in agility and we're working on a freestyle routine at the moment. I was just sad as he's only 6 - well he'll be 7 in a few months but he seems so young. Your article suggested supplements so I'm going to look into that. Anything that will help. Thank you.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

you might be interested in talking with Catherine ? Herbal Support for the Heart - The Possible Canine


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## Sue/Rico (Dec 8, 2013)

Thank you, Dave. I'll take a good look at that site. It looks like it has a wealth of information. Thank you. I appreciate you posting this.


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## Sheri (Oct 11, 2008)

Sue/Rico, I myself have Mitral Valve Prolapse, and am going strong with no medicines needed, either, like Karen. Mine, also, has not gotten worse, and I am not a young chicken!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Sue/Rico said:


> Thanks, Krandall. I just was so upset. It came out of nowhere so it was a shocker. He's healthy and active and we train together and then out of the blue he had a heart murmur. Glad to hear yours is fine. I'm hoping Rico takes after you.  Thanks for answering.


Mine came out of the blue too... When I was in the hospital with pre-term lapbor with my first... JUST the time you want them to tell you, "Oh, BTW, did you know you have a significant heart murmur? Yeah, really slushy sounding!"


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

My first Havanese Sparky had a significant murmur from the time he was very young. I actually got him as a puppy for my father and he became ours at eight years old. He was a wonderful little dog and passed away at 15 yrs old.


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## Sue/Rico (Dec 8, 2013)

Thanks everyone for your support. I was just crushed when I first heard the news, even though they told me it is at a very early stage. Thanks for helping me put it all in perspective. There are 3 Vets where I go, and the one I usually see is away on holidays. So the one I did see sounded off as if Rico already had one foot in the grave. It scared me. So thanks for making me see it all in perspective. Hey Heather - that's fantastic that Sparky lived to 15 years. Did he ever need medication for his heart?

Thanks everyone.


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## DebW (Jun 11, 2013)

My first Hav Elian had a heart murmur that progressed to heart failure by age 12. At that point, he was put on diuretics, was lethargic, and panted a lot. He died at age 13. His heart murmur was diagnosed as a puppy, so lived with the murmur for a long time before it caused symptoms. 

I can empathize with what you're going through!


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## Sue/Rico (Dec 8, 2013)

Thanks, Deb. Thanks for sharing about Elian. Rico is so active I can't even picture him slowing down so I'm hoping he won't have symptoms for a long time. We do agility and freestyle together and walk every day. I'm also bringing his weight down a pound or two. He's not overweight but the Vet said to keep him really lean. So you got another Havanese, too?


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

Sue/Rico said:


> Thanks everyone for your support. I was just crushed when I first heard the news, even though they told me it is at a very early stage. Thanks for helping me put it all in perspective. There are 3 Vets where I go, and the one I usually see is away on holidays. So the one I did see sounded off as if Rico already had one foot in the grave. It scared me. So thanks for making me see it all in perspective. Hey Heather - that's fantastic that Sparky lived to 15 years. Did he ever need medication for his heart?
> 
> Thanks everyone.


Sparky had a VI murmur and was active until the last year of his life. He was on Lasix, Coreg, Vetmedin, Hydrocodone cough syrup and Toradol. It's good that your vet did a baseline ECHO. Murmurs are common and not all progress like Sparky's.


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## DebW (Jun 11, 2013)

Sue/Rico said:


> Thanks, Deb. Thanks for sharing about Elian. Rico is so active I can't even picture him slowing down so I'm hoping he won't have symptoms for a long time. We do agility and freestyle together and walk every day. I'm also bringing his weight down a pound or two. He's not overweight but the Vet said to keep him really lean. So you got another Havanese, too?


Sorry for the delayed response - I've been out of the country.

I also did agility with Elian - until he decided that he didn't want to any more.

Yes, I got another Hav, my boy Sheldon, now almost 3. He is the most precious thing - actually, he has a much nicer personality than Elian did. The vet says that he is very healthy, and shows no sign of a heart murmur.


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## Sue/Rico (Dec 8, 2013)

Thanks everyone, you've helped a lot. I'm going to continue keeping Rico healthy and fit and active. We're working on a freestyle routine for a competition. And I'll take it a day at a time. Thank you so much for your kind and insightful wisdom and for sharing your own experiences. I appreciate it.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Sue/Rico said:


> Thanks everyone, you've helped a lot. I'm going to continue keeping Rico healthy and fit and active. We're working on a freestyle routine for a competition. And I'll take it a day at a time. Thank you so much for your kind and insightful wisdom and for sharing your own experiences. I appreciate it.


We LOVE to see our Havs out and about doing things. We'd love to see Rico's freestyle if you can get someone to video it!!!


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