cardiac workup - what to expect?

Hi.

So my special kitty has just turned extra special (more on his IBS in a thread coming soon). He was in for a dental, and the vet detected a heart murmur. She made everyone else listen to it to be sure (!), and then did an x-ray. She said Teddy has an enlarged heart and accompanying vasculature (though I don't know whether it's the coronaries or something else - like pulmonary vasculature).

Teddy is a great cat, and since we've brought him back from the brink with his IBS, we're determined to make sure he gets the best care. So, he'll be off to the cardiologist (though the regular vet wants to recheck him first).

I know a lot about cardiac care in humans. I know nothing about it in cats.

For those of you that have been through this before, what should I expect? How do ultrasounds/EKG's work in cats? Is there anesthesia (Teddy's been anesthetized twice and has done just fine)? Are there stress tests for cats? How do cats with enlarged hearts generally do - are they medicated or not? For some reason, I'm not worried about the ultimate diagnosis, just what he's going to have to go through!

I'd love to hear from anyone with info, but particularly people with older cats - Teddy is 10. He takes prednisone to manage his IBS which I'm sure will interfere with other medications, so we'll have to watch for that down the road.

Thanks - I appreciate whatever you can offer.

I can't answer very many of your questions but my Precious went for a cardiac workup in January of this year. She was not anesthetized for the echo or the other tests. She's a very shy semi feral cat and she got through it without any sedation. I'm not sure about a stress test, that option wasn't mentioned. I didn't get to observe, but all went well.

I don't have a lot of knowledge on the subject, it sounds like you know quite a bit more about this than I do . Precious' heart is enlarged. That is one of numerous issues with her heart . I'm not sure of what medications might be used in typical cases, since my girl isn't very typical. At this point, she gets Lasix 2x/day for pulmonary edema but that's it. Her blood pressure is low and heart rate normal so I believe some of the other common meds given to kitty heart patients would not be applicable for her. She has some exercise intolerance and shortness of breath, occasional coughing. She's only a year old.

A side question--has Teddy had a senior panel? Since you've been through it with PJ, you probably already know that hyperthyroidism can cause both heart murmurs and IBD. If he hasn't had one, or if his T4 is in the mid 2s (reference range 0.8 to 4.0), I would consider looking at that as possibility as well. If his T4 is borderline (mid 2s), see if you can have a Free T4 done. My mom's cat was just diagnosed a couple of weeks ago. Her T4 was in the 2s and her free T4 was high--I kept telling my mom she looked thin! She has had a heart murmur for the past year or two as well.

Originally Posted by cloud_shade

A side question--has Teddy had a senior panel? Since you've been through it with PJ, you probably already know that hyperthyroidism can cause both heart murmurs and IBD. If he hasn't had one, or if his T4 is in the mid 2s (reference range 0.8 to 4.0), I would consider looking at that as possibility as well. If his T4 is borderline (mid 2s), see if you can have a Free T4 done. My mom's cat was just diagnosed a couple of weeks ago. Her T4 was in the 2s and her free T4 was high--I kept telling my mom she looked thin! She has had a heart murmur for the past year or two as well.

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Yep.. he had his panel done on May 9th and came back normal in absolutely every thinkable category.

Do you have the actual values?