HCM Cat Fainted?

fromthevalley

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Kaylee is going on three years old, but last May she was diagnosed with HCM (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) (http://www.thecatsite.com/t/297133/...ic-cardiomyopathy-hcm-paranoid-mom-needs-help)

She was put on Enalapril. I found a cardiologist, and she switched Kaylee to Atenolol twice a day, and she's been doing great since then! (Let's just say like 1 out of 10, Kaylee was an 8 (very bad) but now she's around a 4 (not quite normal heart, but a lot better)). She still sees her normal vet for shots and stuff, and her cardiologist said the visits can now become a once a year thing. 

This morning, I woke up at six to give Kaylee her pill, then went back to bed. I know I woke up a few time and she was sleeping beside me. When I finally woke up around 10, Kaylee came over and demanded attention like normal. She then jumped off the bed and went into the other room. I got up to start my morning rituals when I found her hunched on the floor crying, which turned into yowling (like in pain), which turned into one long yowl before she stiffened up and fell to her side. She started shaking, but not very hard, like she was shivering. It lasted maybe two seconds, if that. Then she got up and hid under the table. I reached over to pet her, and while she didn't want to move, she responded to me. I called the vet and rushed her over. The whole time in the car she acted like she normally would during a car ride (meowing, rubbing against my fingers through the carrier). At the vet, she acted like she normally would at the vet. 

The vet listened to her heart and while of course she had the murmur, her heart rate and pulse were completely within normal range. Blood work also came back normal. They said that HCM cats can sometimes pass out when their heart rate suddenly drops (like how humans can sometimes get dizzy if they sit up too fast). 

My cardiologist isn't in on Saturdays, however the hospital where she is located said that if it happened again to bring her up and they will page her, but because they are located over an hour away they don't want to stress her out (and I agree). 

I've watched videos of cats having seizures and they look really violent, and Kaylee's didn't look like that, but I just worry. Do HCM cats really do the weird seizure-look-alike fainting thing?
 

foxxycat

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Did they make sure there was no blood clot in the legs? How scary! Are you a member of the yahoo group Feline Heart Disease? I wonder if someone over there could answer this better. So glad that you went right in to be looked at. The only thing that could be done is an ultrasound to see if there are any changes. sometimes its hard to hear changes in the heart via stethoscope. Did they recommend heart echo? When was the last echo?
 
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fromthevalley

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She just went to the cardio in December and thats when the doc said that Kaylee was looking a heck of a lot better than when she first started. There was no clot in her legs. And yes, I just joined the group and have currently got one reply, which (while also had a lot of bad grammar and spelling) wasn't very encouraging: 

"my Chloie had that happen two or three times while she was in congestive heart failure. no vets, including cardiologist could tell me a thing about why it happened. she did not yowl but seemed to lose her balance while climbing from chair to chair and then staggered when she fell to the floor. one other time, she looked a bit woozy while under a piece of furniture and then lay on the floor for a few seconds, then got up and seemed normal. each time I rushed her in and everything registered as normal. cardiologist said you have to measure vital signs within a minute to detect anything if there is anything to be detected. 
 
my sympathies to you -- a car with serious heart disease is about the worst cat disease I have ever experienced and I have had everything from cancer to IBD and on and on."
 

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Did they do xray? if it is congestive failure I would think xray could detect. when was the last echo done? May not be a bad idea to do another one if it has been more than six months-sometimes they don't know what its caused from. And very scary for us parents to sit and watch.
 
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fromthevalley

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A stated, her last echo was done in December. No xray was done because she was showing no other symptoms besides the quick fainting spell. HCM technically is  congestive heart failure, just a (sometimes) slow progression on it. 
 

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My cat Thomas passed away from CHF in June at 17 years old. He was diagnosed a year earlier. He had a couple of episodes exactly as you described when he was 12. He would start crying and yowling and then fall on his side with his arms and legs almost stretched out like and shaking. It also lasted a few seconds. I rushed him to the vet and they ran tests. Nothing was found. That was very terrifying seeing him go through that. I don't know if that was somehow related to the heart failure he eventually developed. I remember he had two episodes in a week. But that was it.
 
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fromthevalley

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Tamu

It is very terrifying. I'm going to find a new vet, because I talked to another HCM mom, and they said my regular vet should have done more tests. I don't have a blood pressure cuff at home, but I have a stethoscope. Her heart was a little fast (then again I startled her) and her heart murmur was faint when before you could even hear it if you put your ear to her chest. I left a message with the cardiologist to get an appointment asap when they open Monday. Kaylee is currently fine. She ate some moist food and used the litterbox, then wanted cuddle time. Her resting breathing was slow and normal (during the whole thing she was never panting, just breathing a little fast, though I associate that with going to the vet). 
 

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My Thomas was diagnosed with CHF in October 2014. We noticed he was breathing more rapidly while sleeping and weak. His regular vet was not able to give us a definite diagnosis. They said he needed to see a cardiologist. After an echo was done, we gto the definite diagnosis. He was placed on Vetmedin and Enalipril. He also was prescribed two diuretics: Furosemide and Spironolactone. Did your vet or cardiologist mention Vetmedin? Thomas did really well when he was placed on it.
 

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Tamu

It is very terrifying. I'm going to find a new vet, because I talked to another HCM mom, and they said my regular vet should have done more tests. I don't have a blood pressure cuff at home, but I have a stethoscope. Her heart was a little fast (then again I startled her) and her heart murmur was faint when before you could even hear it if you put your ear to her chest. I left a message with the cardiologist to get an appointment asap when they open Monday. Kaylee is currently fine. She ate some moist food and used the litterbox, then wanted cuddle time. Her resting breathing was slow and normal (during the whole thing she was never panting, just breathing a little fast, though I associate that with going to the vet). 
I'm glad to hear Kaylee is doing well. Sending Kaylee hugs and kisses :vibes::vibes::vibes::vibes:
 
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fromthevalley

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My Thomas was diagnosed with CHF in October 2014. We noticed he was breathing more rapidly while sleeping and weak. His regular vet was not able to give us a definite diagnosis. They said he needed to see a cardiologist. After an echo was done, we gto the definite diagnosis. He was placed on Vetmedin and Enalipril. He also was prescribed two diuretics: Furosemide and Spironolactone. Did your vet or cardiologist mention Vetmedin? Thomas did really well when he was placed on it.
Kaylee showed no symptoms what so ever. One checkup, where it was for their yearly shots, they heard the murmur (a very LOUD one at that). She was put on Enalapril 2.5mgs once a day.I looked around at all the cardiologist as picked one of the best ones (best ones alright. I love her!). Your going to have to forgive me, but I forget the exactness of the first meeting, but I knew it was pretty bad. One of Kaylee's valaves didn't open all the way, so instead of all the blood flowing out to the rest of the body, it only sort of flowed out while the rest mostly stayed in the heart. The lining of her heart was pretty thick, and she had a random muscle in the middle of her heart that shouldn't of been (but it wasn't doing anything besides just sitting there, so they just focused on the other two things). Her heart was working way too card. Cardio switched her to Atenolol 2x a day; first 1/4, then 1/2, now finally 3/4. Very positive results.  Kaylee went from 'she might die in a month, maybe' to 'maybe old age'. Today was the first (maybe?) sign of HCM. 
 

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My little Speedy has been living with HCM for about ten years and doing great. The cardiologist said she only needed a checkup every two years and she is now almost 15 - five years older than what they told me to expect with HCM. I thought she would live to a ripe old age.  

Speedy had several similar episodes in the last few months - once in August, another in November, and then two in December. Same symptoms - she starts yowling and crying, then falls over on her side, curls up and appears to lose consciousness for what is probably a matter of seconds (but feels like forever). One time she urinated.  We saw the vet and Speedy's blood work and urinalysis came back perfect, so the vet diagnosed seizures Man, that is a hell of a drug and I hate the side effects my poor Speedy has been dealing with (lethargy, clumsiness, lack of balance, weakness in her legs, increased hunger and thirst).

With seizures, the regular vet wanted us to see the cardiologist to rule out any cardiac issues, plus it just happened to be time for the revisit. I was shocked and devastated when she said that Speedy has congestive heart failure, the condition has really advanced in the last twoyears. There is no good news with CHF, it's not curable and Speedy will not be with me much longer. I don't know how I'm going to do this except to just love her as much as i can and make her happy.

I don't want to scare you, I am telling you this because the one sort of bright spot was that the cardiologist thinks Speedy was not having seizures, it was likely fainting spells caused by her poor heart and lung function, and the buildup of fluid around her lungs.  The doctor said that it is extremely difficult to tell the difference btw seizures and faints in cats, the symptoms are very similar. Thinking back, there are a couple of classic indicators of a seizure that Speedy doesn't have - paddling the feet, drooling, peeing/pooping, running around, etc.  I think it is good news because maybe I can eventually get her off the phenobarb and let her final months be a bit more like her old self.

So yes, HCM cats really do the seizure-lookalike-fainting thing. Since Kaylee just had her echo and is doing well, it is probably an isolated incident as your vet suggested. I hope she doesn't have any more!
 
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fromthevalley

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Took Kaylee to the hospital because the only thing she wanted to do was curl up on me and sleep, and not eat or drink. XRays/Echo showed her heart was slightly larger than what it was before (grade 7.6 to grade 8) but there were NO signs of heart failure. Her blood work passed with flying colors except for her blood platelet count was slightly low, however there machine is always wonky with cats. They agreed with me that it was a seizure, but since she has not had once since they do not want to give her epilepsy meds. Because the actual doctors were not there, they wanted to keep her overnight with IV fluids and do a cardio + neuro consult in the morning. However, it would have cost me $2000+ (because of the fact that it's an ER visit). Plus, while the MRI is safe, to make a def. diagnosis a spinal tap would have been needed, which is very dangerous for Kay because of her heart. HOWEVER, if I make an appointment with her cardiologist to do a check up and they 'happen' to grab the neurologist for a consult, it will be much cheaper (since a normal cardio visit for me is only around $200 and a new neuro patient visit is twice that). So we are going up tomorrow for that.

On a side note, when we got home, the little **** ate some moist food and drank water. And attacked my foot.
 
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fromthevalley

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Keep us posted

As of today (1/19/16) Kaylee is doing alright - no other seizures since the first. Seemingly back to her old self, though not eating quite as much as she used to (but it's hard to judge with her). She goes back next month for a full cardio look over and hopefully a neuro consult. Thanks guys.
 
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foxxycat

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Love the part where you say the little ____ attacked your foot. :) She must be feeling well enough to be sassy-as my vet has said in the past-I have one who hisses and is plain ol cranky-when they stop being cranky/feisty is when you know they don't feel well.

I wonder if kitty didn't even realize what was going on during the seizure-are you on facebook? There are a few cat pages for health needs one.

one of them is Andy Needs Your Help=he was born with water on the brain-and seizes all the time=which scares his mommy more than it scares him-Ive learned so much from these brave people who share with the world different health issues as I feel it helps better educate us for what to be on the lookout for-

I hope this was a one time thing-and you did the right thing getting another echo done-So GLAD everything is normal!!

This year has been a rough one for many cat parents and so many people passing away!! Lets hope things calm down!!!

xoxoxox
 
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