What are the clinical signs associated with heart disease in cats?
Clinical signs associated with heart disease in cats actually run the gamut from absolutely no clinical signs outwardly all the way down to collapse and sudden death. I would say that the majority of the cats that I see in practice that have heart disease show no overt clinical signs at home that the owner would be able to pick up on. Oftentimes, heart disease is discovered incidentally during the course of a normal wellness exam checkup. In some cats, however, if heart disease is severe enough, the cat may display signs such as exercise intolerance, general fatigue, and lethargy at home. On occasion, the owner may notice that the cat's resting respiratory rate is very high. Lastly, a cough would be a clinical sign associated with heart disease in cats.
What is the gold standard for diagnosing heart disease in cats?
The gold standard for diagnosis of heart disease in cats is what we call an echocardiogram, or in layman's terms, an ultrasound of the heart.
If heart disease is diagnosed in a cat, what are the expectations and management options?
If we diagnose heart disease in your cat, unfortunately, this is an incurable disease that the cat will have for the rest of his or her life. However, cat heart disease can be managed. When I say management, it's generally a combination of medication directed at helping the heart do its job more effectively and efficiently and sometimes lifestyle changes, diet, and good weight management. Those would probably be the three things that I would say can be done to manage a cat's heart disease problem long-term.
What should cat owners be aware of regarding heart disease symptoms that are less obvious?
Understanding that heart disease in cats sometimes shows no overt signs that an owner would pick up on, other than sudden collapse and death. If you notice that your cat ever, at play or even just in the course of walking around within your home or outside, has a sudden collapsing episode, that is probably your number one sign that your cat may have heart disease. It's definitely time to get into the emergency hospital or to see your veterinarian as soon as possible.
Are there any other specific symptoms that indicate a cardiac event?
Aside from sudden collapse, if you notice that your cat has any sort of labored breathing or open-mouth breathing, it can be associated with exercise or not. Open-mouth breathing, or panting, is another way of saying that. Cats, generally speaking, do not pant. Panting, open-mouth breathing, sudden collapse, a really high resting respiratory rate where your cat is laying on the floor and you can see that they're working hard to breathe, either in a labored fashion or just that the rate itself is very high. Lastly, if your cat is open-mouth breathing and you notice that the color of the mouth and the gum is anything other than just a nice light pink color—if it's very, very dark pink, and worse yet, if it's a bluish color, a purpley bluish color, those would be your strong indicators that your cat is having a cardiac event and you need to be seeking emergency care.
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