Congestive heart failure or CHF is a very serious problem today. Many people are suffering from this kind of disease from infants to adults. Even animals like dogs and cats suffer from congestive heart failure. This is an inescapable disease. Dogs are one of the animals that can suffer congestive heart failure, common in older and male dogs. Dogs that belong to large or giant breeds is prone to congestive heart failure. To be specific, breeds including Doberman, Irish wolfhound, Boxers, Saint Bernard, Newfoundland and Old English sheepdogs. It can also strike smaller dogs as well. CHF in dogs have the same mode with CHF in human being. It involves the condition where the heart of the dogs cannot pump enough blood throughout the body, which in turn shows many signs of congestive heart failure.
Like humans, dogs also have a four-chambered heart consisted of two atria on top and two ventricles on bottom. Signs of congestive heart failure in dogs will vary on which side of the heart is being affected. Like in humans, CHF in dog can involved only left side of the heart or only the right side of the heart or both. When congestive heart failure occurs in the left side of the heart the common signs is coughing, fainting and difficulties in breathing. If it occurs on the right side of the heart signs like swelling and enlargement of belly may seem due to the build-up of fluids. Some of the signs and symptoms which can appear if your dog is suffering from CHF include decrease in activity level and lack of appetite.
Signs of congestive heart failure in dogs usually show over the age of five. In some cases like cardiomyopathy, this can occur earlier. By the time the signs are barely visible this only means that the disease is already present for quite some time. Once a veterinarian diagnose of congestive heart failure, dogs don’t live long. Even if treatment is implemented, it is very rare for the dog to reach one year the very common is only six months.
Diagnosis is very important when signs of congestive heart failure in dog are already visible. Some of the diagnoses methods used by veterinarians include comprehensive heart history, chest radiographs and cardiac ultrasound. Once diagnosis of CHF has been made, veterinarians will eventually prescribed medication for your dog as a treatment. The goal of the treatment that is done in dogs usually deals with palliative care to increase cardiac output and decrease fluid accumulation.
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