# Heart Murmur



## coronada (Sep 13, 2008)

Hello. I am new to this forum. I have an 11 year old Havanese that was diagnosed with a really bad heart murmur last year. Has any one else experienced this with their Havanese? I have had him since he was 3-4 months old. Thanks, Pam


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## good buddy (Feb 20, 2007)

Hello Coronada, welcome to the forum! My Hav's are very young and I haven't experienced this. Hopefully another member has and they speak up. What has your vet said? Does it limit his activities?


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## SmittenHavaneseMommy (Feb 18, 2008)

Hi Pam, Welcome. No- we haven't experienced this with a Hav. before. Kona's just going to be a year on Christmas day. I am so sorry you are having to go through this though.  Bless his heart. Did your vet tell you it's something he's always had? Or is it something new?  I'm sorry. Maybe it's nothing serious. 
I have a heart murmur that I've always had since a baby, and the only thing it does for me is make me have to take a VERY HIGH dose of antibiotic before I go to the dentist. Weird, I know! 
Please post pictures of your sweetie when you can and welcome again!


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## Cheryl (Mar 17, 2007)

My havs are between 1 and 2 years old, but you can share the pleasure of owning a Hav for 11 years. Has your Hav had symptoms a long with the murmur?

There is a yahoo group for Havanese health and some on that forum speak of murmurs. You can find it at: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/havhealthforum/


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## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

I am sorry to hear about the heart murmur. Do they think it is something that has developed or that he was born with?


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## JASHavanese (Apr 24, 2007)

SmittenHavaneseMommy said:


> Hi Pam, Welcome. No- we haven't experienced this with a Hav. before. Kona's just going to be a year on Christmas day. I am so sorry you are having to go through this though.  Bless his heart. Did your vet tell you it's something he's always had? Or is it something new?  I'm sorry. Maybe it's nothing serious.
> I have a heart murmur that I've always had since a baby, and the only thing it does for me is make me have to take a VERY HIGH dose of antibiotic before I go to the dentist. Weird, I know!
> Please post pictures of your sweetie when you can and welcome again!


Brooke, I think they stopped the antibiotic thing before dental work about a year ago.


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## coronada (Sep 13, 2008)

Thanks, everyone for your responses. It looks like all of you have very young dogs. Corey has had the heart murmur for only about a year and a half. He is in daily meds for it. I was just wondering if any other Havs out there have had this? I know they typically can have problems with their eyes, but I had never heard about the heart murmur. I could take him to a cardiologist, but what would they do? I would rather make him comfy and loved, until it is decided that it's his time to leave us. Although, I'm certainly not prepared for that. He's such a mommy's boy and never leaves my side. As soon as I can figure it out, I will post a photo of him. I haven't been a member for a forum for quite some time, so I have to relearn it. Pam


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## coronada (Sep 13, 2008)

*Photo of Corey*

I think I did it...This is my little Corey and his step brother, Mickey. ;-)


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## Leslie (Feb 28, 2007)

Pam~ I'm sorry to hear of Corey's heart murmur. I know Tom King, on this forum, has older havs. I'm sure if you PM him he'd respond.

Best wishes to you and little Corey.


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## SmittenHavaneseMommy (Feb 18, 2008)

JASHavanese said:


> Brooke, I think they stopped the antibiotic thing before dental work about a year ago.


 Wow--- well that shows how long it's been since I've been at the dentist. I went Jan of last year and had to take them. Ug...

Corey is very cute! Thanks for adding a pic! Have you been able to talk with your vet about what and how this will affect him, other than being on meds?


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## coronada (Sep 13, 2008)

Brooke: Other than pills, I'm just to make him comfy. He's actually doing quite well with such a bad murmur and seems to be responding positively to the meds. He plays all the time with the love of his live, his bally! I was just curious to see if any other Havanese have gone through this and if they had any advice. I figure he's 11, and this is just part of his aging process. :-( As much as I don't like it. In response to Leslie's post, what does PM mean? ;-) I'll tell you, I work on the computer every day all day, but this forum stuff is very foreign to me. ;-) Thanks.


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## Cheryl (Mar 17, 2007)

There were havs on the Havanese Health Yahoo group that I gave you with heart murmurs. I am sure they could help.


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## EstrellaVila (Nov 30, 2007)

Welcome Coronada,

I am sorry to hear about your furbaby's heart murmur. It sounds like he has it pretty good with you and you are a great mommy. I dont know anything about heart murmurs but I hope you find some answers and update us. =)


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## Me&2Girls (May 11, 2007)

Hi Coronada, when your pup was born I think many breeders were still learning that we needed to do cardiac testing on the sire and dam. So in all likelihood it could be genetics or the age. I personally haven't heard of cardiac starting at such an advanced age, so my money would be on age, not genetics. Do you have a pedigree and do you know how to use OFA? The health testing of sires and dams is listed and you may be able to find out if it's in your pup's pedigree. Someone can help you get to www.ofa.org - you just need to have the full parent name. You can go to havanesegallery.com (?) and see if you can find a pedigree. Sounds like he's doing marvelously. I'd like to be 56 and still running around like a puppy.


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## isshinryu_mom (Mar 23, 2008)

JASHavanese said:


> Brooke, I think they stopped the antibiotic thing before dental work about a year ago.


My hubby takes pre-dental work antibiotics for a cardiology issue too. His dentist said he didn't need them anymore since the recommendations had changed. Hubby called his cardiologist (one of the top ones in the US) and he said to keep taking them. His issue is a bit more complicated than just a murmur, but still... might want to ask your cardiologist just in case.


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## RikiDaisyDixie (Apr 15, 2008)

*Older havanese*

I have a few friends with older havanese. Mine are 5 and 4.

The older ones seem to start "aging" and forgetting around 15...just like people do. I know that there are several people on the health group who have experience. I also know that many of the breeders have older dogs. I hope you get some answers.

Heart murmurs run in my family. We just make sure our diets are good.

Tell us more about life with a havanese over a few years!


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## RikiDaisyDixie (Apr 15, 2008)

*advice from a long time hav owner...*

I asked Ursula, a long time hav owner and this was her suggestion:

I'd suggest that the person with the dog with
the murmur sign up with
[email protected]. Murmur is
much more serious in dogs. The people on that list are
very knowledgeable, and if she lets them know lab
results, etc, will help guide her to make the right
choices of treatment and preventative care to give her
dog the longest life possible. It needs to be evaluated
by a cardiologist, etc, and there are natural
supplements that she can give to help lengthen its'
life.


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## hartman studio (Feb 14, 2008)

Hi Pam, Sorry to hear about your dog's heart murmur. He's very cute. You didn't say what grade murmur he was diagnosed with having. My Coton de Tulear was diagnosed with a heart murmur at about the same age. around a grade 3. He is now almost 16 years old with a grade 5 murmur. What you worry about is congestive heart failure. Since your dog has been put on meds it sounds like he may have early signs of congestive heart failure. I don't think they usually put a dog on meds for just a murmur. My coton has done well- his mental state is much worse than his cardiac health! My sister's coton also went through this. He was given a couple of months to live so she took him to a cardiologist who put him on several meds and monitored him carefully every 2 weeks. He lived over a year with a very severe heart murmur and significant heart disease. He was 13. That being said- I think she spent close to $10,000 in medical expenses and drugs for him that year and was with him 24/7 to administer meds almost every 2 hours. Good Luck with your furbaby and let us know how he's doing. Since he plays well it sounds like he's doing great. They tend to lay and sleep alot when their hearts aren't working well. Also I've noticed that vets grade heart murmurs very differently. What one may call severe or significant another may not. You could get a second opinion- maybe it's not that bad. Jocelyn


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## Miss Paige (Apr 4, 2008)

Hi Pam

I two am so sorry to read about the heart murmur. My newest "fur-kid" is 11-12 and she has been dx with a heart murmur-it is not bad enough for medication but the cardiologist I took her too states it could change at any time. She will need to be followed by him yearly for the rest of her life. I have decided it must be from age. So I plan on just doing what it takes to make her happy and let her enjoy life for as long as she wants.
She also has had bladder stones so we have to watch that-it's a real catch 22 with our older darling. 

Linda-Thanks for the link-think I will check that group out. I am on the Havanese Health Forum so one more health forum will be a good thing for me to be part of for Frannie.

Pat


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## coronada (Sep 13, 2008)

Thank you all for your suggestions. I will look into them. I knew I could get some good advice here. Corey's a sweetheart and I want to make his as comfy as I can as he ages. Pam


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## Tooetpulik (May 15, 2008)

I have had 2 pulik with heart murmurs that eventually developed into congestive heart failure. It is frequently congenital and more then likely one of the parents of your dog (frequently the dam) had a heart murmur. Treatment for CHF had improved dramatically over the years since I lost my dogs to it and the prognosis for a good quality of life with medication is much better then when I dealt with it.


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