Update on Tedi's visit to the Cardiologist

Today we went to see the Cardiologist. I can tell you he sure did not like the fact that he had to go. Poor guy was in the car for about 45 mins.

There was an emergency that came in a few minutes after I did (I got there half an hour early), so I ended up waiting almost an hour before I was seen. I didn't mind because if it were my cat and I needed to see someone right away, I'd want them to do that for me also. The cardiologist was very apologetic and didn't even charge me a consultation fee which I thought was very nice and I knew she didn't have to do that.

She suggested doing an ultrasound, which I knew was very likely, so they could get a baseline of what is going on with his heart. The ultrasound took only about 20 mins and they didn't even have to sedate him. He did very well and I made sure he got some food and treats once home.

These are the results from the ultrasound. Systolic anterior motion of the mitral valve, Mild left ventricular hypertrophy, Mild left artrial enlargement, and Sinus tachycardia. She said it was mild cardiac disease and gave us Atenolol to give him twice a day to slow down his heart beat. It is a beta blocker.

I'm suppose to take him back to our regular vet to have them check and make sure that the amount of medication that is prescribed is ok for him. I forgot to ask them if I can just get the medication refilled at our regular vet because I'd have to go down there once a month and that's a good drive for me.

So has anyone else had a cat with these symptoms? How long can a cat live with cardiac disease? He seems healthy otherwise.

My Rainbow Angel Divot was on atenolol for about 4 years. He went to the Bridge from a number of other things. We had his atenolol compounded into fish flavored treats. He loved them and reminded me when it was time for him to get his treat. Look up the Animal Pharmacy online. That's where we got his meds.

Loads of luck with Tedi. The meds really help.

Originally Posted by Mcat

My Rainbow Angel Divot was on atenolol for about 4 years. He went to the Bridge from a number of other things. We had his atenolol compounded into fish flavored treats. He loved them and reminded me when it was time for him to get his treat. Look up the Animal Pharmacy online. That's where we got his meds.

Loads of luck with Tedi. The meds really help.

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That's really encouraging to know and hear. He's 14 years old and his kidneys and thyroid are still in good shape. Even though he's older, he is still active, lovable, and eating crazy like always. I didn't want to give up on the guy. He could still have a few years left on him.
I just have to find out where to refill the meds at. Right now he's only get a quarter of a tablet twice a day.

Sending out {{{{{{Mega Vibes}}}}}for Tedi! please keep us posted!

Originally Posted by DebsKats

Katy who's also 14 has been on atenolol for about 2 1/2 years now for her mild heart disease (hers actually sounds about the same as Tedi's) and amlodipine for high blood pressure. She's done really well on it. She also had hyperthyroidism which was treated with I131.

The cardiologist also started Katy on 81 mg of aspirin twice a week to help prevent clots. We just stopped that earlier this year though because she's had pancreatitis and IBD and the vets were afraid that the aspirin was irritating her stomach and keeping her pancreatitis from improving.

My regular vet, rather than the cardiologist, calls in prescription refills for the atenolol and amlodipine both to my regular pharmacy. I just get them in pill form rather than compounded as Katy's very easy to pill.

Don't give up hope on Tedi yet . . . it sounds like he's in good health otherwise.

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Thanks! Sometimes I noticed he may get a little stressed and get dizzy, but that's not often. Otherwise he is as playful as ever and still eats like a horse.
I have to take him to vet in about a week to have them check his heart beat. I'll let you know how it goes.

Tedi's visit to our local vet went very well. His heartbeat before was 220 and at the vet it was 150. It should really be a little lower than that, but he gets stressed out at the vet. In 6 months I need to take him back to have another ultrasound done. After that, I hope I won't have to go back for a long time. It's so expensive to go to a specialist and want to keep the costs down as much as possible.

Just a thought, but see if you can check his heart rate at home (a cheapie stethoscope should work)...maybe it spikes when he's at the vet (hey, it happens it people w/ pulse and BP, aka the "white coat syndrome ). this way the vet doesn't unnecessarily up his beta-blocker to slow down a falsely elevated heart rate...

do they know why he's so tachycardic? the heart changes described by the ultrasound don't sound like they should be significant symptomatically...maybe anti-clot meds if things get worse, like someone else posted...Good health to Tedi

Originally Posted by whiskerynature

Just a thought, but see if you can check his heart rate at home (a cheapie stethoscope should work)...maybe it spikes when he's at the vet (hey, it happens it people w/ pulse and BP, aka the "white coat syndrome

). this way the vet doesn't unnecessarily up his beta-blocker to slow down a falsely elevated heart rate...

do they know why he's so tachycardic? the heart changes described by the ultrasound don't sound like they should be significant symptomatically...maybe anti-clot meds if things get worse, like someone else posted...Good health to Tedi

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He has a heart murmur so this was the whole reason for the trip to the cardiologist. I do have a stethoscope at home and was thinking of doing it myself periodically.