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My dog was born with a heart murmur

Posted : 5/6/2006 11:34:46 AM

Hello. My dog was born with a heart murmur. He has a hole between the left and right ventricle. I don't remember what my vet rated it but she said that there's nothing we can do but wait and see if it gets any bigger. he's now 9 months old and i'm supposed to bring him in for another set of xrays when he's 1. We're hoping that he has out-grown the hole since he's TWICE as big as his two sisters. If the hole has increased in size, our vet said we'd have to bring him to get open heart surgery which would cost well around $10,000. which i dont think i can afford!! I've read that a lot of dogs are diagnosed with a heart murmur but I'm wondering if anybody can tell me how serious this heart murmur is if it's located between the left and right ventricle.

Katrina Flanagan

Posted : 5/6/2006 12:19:13 PM

Is it in the interventricular septum or on one of the walls on the ventricles?

I posted a diagram a week or so ago in another inquiry to help but here it is again. Look at this diagram and then let me know. It might help you understand better ( i am a visual learner)

As far as how serious it is, only your vet can tell you that, some dogs live their whole lives with murmurs, others are too serious. The are really difficult to repair but $10, 000? I can't fully believe that or may find it hard to believe, I would suggest getting another opinion. Get the results forwarded to another clinic and ask them for a quote.

Jennie K

Posted : 5/6/2006 12:52:35 PM

Yeah, $10,000 was hard for me to believe also! I will definately check other clinics to get another quote. But as for the hole, it's in his interventricular septum. I've read of holes located in the valves but have not found anything about a hole in the septum. Does your dog also have a heart murmur?

Katrina Flanagan

Posted : 5/6/2006 8:14:00 PM

I have never had to face a heart murmur in my dogs (although I wonder daily what will be next) I have just seen a lot of medical problems in animals, especially with the heart. I also have a close friend going through this right now.

Murmurs can happen in various areas of the heart which is why I attached the diagram. They can happen in the SA-AV node, the interventricular septum, even in the semi-lunar valves from defaulty chordae tendinae's. Lost yet? That is why I asked for clarification as to where it was.

Depending on where you go your vet probably diagnosed this and wrote a number in your file. It would be on a scale from 1/6-6/6. If they follow this, see if you can find out the number. That might help a bit. I am not a vet though so I would recommend talking to your's or another to find out how serious it is.

You have on your hands what is called a "Congenital ventricular septal defect". It is the #1 congenital defect in dogs so it is rare that a veterinarian does not have experience with this. Basically what is happening is that the blood between the right and left ventricles are mixing instead of going in the proper orders as per the diagram I attached. This means that instead of the blood going out the pulmonary veins and the aorta to get oxygenated in the lungs they are mixing and possibly not getting oxygenated or not going where it is supposed to. As far as what is happening to the blood instead of what it should be doing and how serious it is, only a vet can answer that for you. I can only give info on what "typically" happens although every case is different. Hope this clarifies some things for you to help you along this difficult road to come.