I don't know how sensitive the test is. I just know our vet knew about the test, and given the sound of the murmur felt it wasn't necessary for Flowerbelle, but that imaging was in order.
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Delilah's heart murmur
- Thread starter catnamedpanda
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Hi Cat Named Panda, Thank you for your condolences. Please know that I did not mean to imply that Delilah has HCM just because she has a murmur...only that a murmur is sometimes a precursor to a more serious illness like heart disease. As many posts indicate, sometimes a murmur is just a murmur and a kitty can, as humans often do, outgrow them. Didn't mean to be alarmist...just using my experience with Yuki as more of a cautionary tale. Please let us all know what your vet discovers this week. My thoughts and best wishes to you both!
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I didn't take it as anyone saying that she had HCM at all. I appreciate the warning, and I will do whatever I am capable of for my sweet girl. I wish I had the money to just take her and do the testing without any hesitation right now. If I can take it one step at a time and maybe do some cheaper test to see how much I need to worry than that is what I will do. Hopefully Monday will put me at some ease.
She already worries me as it is on a regular basis. Yet again she has another URI related to getting her kitten shot, because she is on lysine, we thought she might be good this time. Luckily they are normally short lived and minor with her so she should be better here soon.
She already worries me as it is on a regular basis. Yet again she has another URI related to getting her kitten shot, because she is on lysine, we thought she might be good this time. Luckily they are normally short lived and minor with her so she should be better here soon.
I'd like to share with you this article because, after all the reading I've done over the years, I believe, this one offers the best information on heart murmurs.
http://maxshouse.com/heart_murmurs.htm
From my personal experience.......a murmur doesn't necessarily mean a cat has heart disease.
After one of mine died of HCM suddenly without any symptoms that could have warned us or our vet that anything was wrong with him (he even had a dental with no problems). all our surviving cats went in for a heart ultrasound with a cardiologist. One cat had a murmur, so I was most anxious about her. No heart disease. (Now, many years later, the murmur is a little bit louder, but new ultrasound has confirmed, still no heart disease.)
One other cat developed a murmur in her teens a few years ago, but there is no heart disease.
Another cat developed HCM in her mid teens but she never had a murmur. The heart disease became life-threatening when we tried to help her kidneys with subcutaneous fluids.
She ended up in emergency treatment in an oxygen tent and getting large doses of injectable Lasix to save her life.
So, I'm trying to say, a murmur can be scary. but without proper testing we don't know if it's anything to be scared about or not.
If you possibly can, at one point, please do a heart ultrasound to make sure nothing is seriously wrong.
One reason I'm saying this, is this. There can be times in a cat's life when emergency treatment with hospitalization and fluids (especially IV fluids) may be necessary to save the cat's life. Undiagnosed heart disease where fluids can cause congestive heart failure, can cause an unexpected, very scary life-threatening situation. Unfortunately, even heart disease we know of and that seems to be under control, can cause an unexpected life-threatening situation if a cat receives fluids the heart can't handle.
http://maxshouse.com/heart_murmurs.htm
From my personal experience.......a murmur doesn't necessarily mean a cat has heart disease.
After one of mine died of HCM suddenly without any symptoms that could have warned us or our vet that anything was wrong with him (he even had a dental with no problems). all our surviving cats went in for a heart ultrasound with a cardiologist. One cat had a murmur, so I was most anxious about her. No heart disease. (Now, many years later, the murmur is a little bit louder, but new ultrasound has confirmed, still no heart disease.)
One other cat developed a murmur in her teens a few years ago, but there is no heart disease.
Another cat developed HCM in her mid teens but she never had a murmur. The heart disease became life-threatening when we tried to help her kidneys with subcutaneous fluids.
She ended up in emergency treatment in an oxygen tent and getting large doses of injectable Lasix to save her life.
So, I'm trying to say, a murmur can be scary. but without proper testing we don't know if it's anything to be scared about or not.
If you possibly can, at one point, please do a heart ultrasound to make sure nothing is seriously wrong.
One reason I'm saying this, is this. There can be times in a cat's life when emergency treatment with hospitalization and fluids (especially IV fluids) may be necessary to save the cat's life. Undiagnosed heart disease where fluids can cause congestive heart failure, can cause an unexpected, very scary life-threatening situation. Unfortunately, even heart disease we know of and that seems to be under control, can cause an unexpected life-threatening situation if a cat receives fluids the heart can't handle.
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What is the difference between an echocardiogram and a cardio ultrasound, I thought the echo was an ultra sound.
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I talked to the vet today and she says her heart murmur is mild. As far as the spay, I can go ahead and plan it, but she is obviously at a higher risk. She recommends that I do a chest x-ray and an ultrasound first.
Important info in this article
http://www.ormondcatclinic.com/site/view/211828_Echocardiogram.pml
under:
How do I know if my cat needs an echocardiogram?
And
What is the difference between an echocardiogram and x-rays?
It seems you have a caring, conscientious vet who wants to make sure your baby will be safe for a procedure that requires anesthesia. I would trust her in this situation and would not hesitate to follow her recommendation.
http://www.ormondcatclinic.com/site/view/211828_Echocardiogram.pml
under:
How do I know if my cat needs an echocardiogram?
And
What is the difference between an echocardiogram and x-rays?
It seems you have a caring, conscientious vet who wants to make sure your baby will be safe for a procedure that requires anesthesia. I would trust her in this situation and would not hesitate to follow her recommendation.
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Hmmm. well, that kind of changes things, IMHO. I probably wouldn't take a gamble on that sweet baby and would go ahead with the ultrasound, since she recommends it. Guess I'd better educate myself with the above link and find out the the difference between an x-ray and ultrasound to see why one would need both!
AW sweetie..... I am sorry you are dealing with all of this worry over your sweet little Delilah. I know how special she is to you and how attached you are. Sometimes our worry exceeds the reality of the situation :lol3: and can drive us mad. I have known many kitties with heart murmurs that have not had any issues what so ever AND sometimes they go away. Actually, Wendall, my asthma baby, had a heart murmer when he was first rescued from an abusive situation. Probably stress related and I won't go into detail - but it makes sense. I am going to be optimisic about little Delilah that all will be alright. 
I am sorry, too, that she has another URI from the vaccine. She is so young, hun. YOu could easily wait till she is a few months older, closer to six months or so, before you even think about the spay at all, and who knows.... maybe the murmur will disappear :cross: :cross: :cross: 
p.s. Sometimes they do the xray first - and it can be very accurate so you wouldn't need the ultrasound. But, if the xrays are inconclusive or showing some sort of abnormality, then they recommend the ultrasound follow-up which is more detailed and exact. If you decide to go that route right now, anyway.
I am sorry, too, that she has another URI from the vaccine. She is so young, hun. YOu could easily wait till she is a few months older, closer to six months or so, before you even think about the spay at all, and who knows.... maybe the murmur will disappear :cross: :cross: :cross: p.s. Sometimes they do the xray first - and it can be very accurate so you wouldn't need the ultrasound. But, if the xrays are inconclusive or showing some sort of abnormality, then they recommend the ultrasound follow-up which is more detailed and exact. If you decide to go that route right now, anyway.
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Thanks everyone. it is really hard for me not to worry about my baby. I will definitely wait on spaying her until I know more, I couldn't imagine how horrible I would feel if I knowingly put her at risk and lost her because of it. She will be 5 months next week and we were shooting for spaying her at 6 months. I get a discount if I do her before 7 months but that is not worth putting her at risk. Penelope is fine and will be done still next month. Delilah is still small at just under 3 pounds. As soon as I have the money to afford the tests I will get them done.
Her URI is improving quickly, she sounds much better already and is running around again. I knew that ay least would be over quickly.
Her URI is improving quickly, she sounds much better already and is running around again. I knew that ay least would be over quickly.
Well, Delilah and you are quite the troopers
