Pets of all ages can get sick. We often think of the senior pets, or the youngest pets, as being the ones who are most susceptible to illness and disease. This can be true due to them having a weakened or underdeveloped immune system or other health conditions to fight. However the truth is, just like people, pets of any age or breed can get sick. Purebred dogs are often prone to more serious conditions than their mixed breed friends. Anyone with a Boxer, Golden Retriever or German Shepherd can verify that (just the first three breeds that popped into my head for having lots of health issues).
In early 2017, Kato collapsed. He was playing in the kitchen and got super excited when Mike came home from work. Evidently it was too much for his heart and he melted into a puddle on the floor. I thought he was going to die. I literally felt like I was going to vomit everywhere, as I held his head and talked to him and watched his every move, while simultaneously feeling his chest and his femoral pulse. As quickly as it happened, he stood up, shook it off and wanted to play again! He went to work with me that day and after a quick exam by one of the Doctors I work with and a phone consult with a cardiologist, we were advised to take him to Texas A&M to have him seen on an emergency basis.
We found out that day Kato had an underlying heart condition that can be common in Boxers. ARVC (Arrhythmic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy) or Boxer Cardiomyopathy, is a disease of older boxers that affects the electrical conduction system of the heart. It usually doesn’t start to show symptoms until around 6 years of age though there are lots of variants for the age of onset. Kato was 9 when his first episode of syncope happened (the fainting that made me almost have a heart attack!).
Kato appeared fine after the episode was over; he ate, drank, took treats and even got excited to go for a ride in the car. He seemed almost completely normal. However, he was far from it. Blood work would not have given us any indications of a problem and X-rays would not have shown much as his heart was not enlarged. A limited ECG (electrocardiogram showing the rhythm of the heart on a screen) may have shown something abnormal but unless the arrhythmia was happening while he was connected, it wouldn’t have been picked up on. That’s really the extent of what a general practice veterinarian can do – test wise – when it comes to cardiology. And that’s perfectly OK. The best way to diagnose cardiac problems is by visiting a cardiologist and having a workup. This might include an echocardiogram and in the case of an arrhythmia, a Holter monitor. The Holter is a contraption they wear for 24 hours to record every beat of their heart, this assess the amount of normal and abnormal beats.
Loki wearing his Holter
Choosing to visit the cardiologist that day undoubtedly saved Kato’s life. Being an experienced boxer owner, I had heard of and researched ARVC before, but seeing the cardiology department at Texas A&M and then at Austin Heart Vet and CVCA, has allowed us to team up with board certified cardiologists whose sole focus is pet hearts! Board Certified Veterinary Cardiologists have not only graduated vet school, they have undergone 3-5 years of additional training in their field, learning how to perform specialty imaging and even surgical procedures, attended hours of continuing education and passed an extensive exam to earn their credentials. A lot of pet owners might perceive specialists as too costly, and it’s absolutely an investment into the long term health of your pet. When you choose referral you’re getting a team of dedicated specialists to help you monitor a potentially life changing/threatening condition which needs expert care. And it might not be as much as you think, calling to get an estimate is always a good idea before you decide referral is out of your budget. Payment plans are often available (check with each clinic), and having pet insurance can help too. After the initial visit, specialists are almost always willing to help manage cases through your primary vet, meaning follow up care can be more affordable too. The initial diagnosis and learning how to manage the condition might take some time and effort, but once you’re there you may save a lot of time and money by utilizing a referral clinic early in the process.
This week we visited Dr. Meier, Board Certified Cardiologist at CVCA Austin. She has been treating Loki and Kato since 2017 and she found a mass on Loki’s heart last year. We found out at our visit that it has grown and at some point may start to cause problems. The mass is near the base of his heart (the top, or the widest part, the bottom of the heart is the apex, pointy end) and would likely not have been found by a regular vet due to the skill needed and specialist equipment used for the imaging. This further solidified our decision to keep attending regular check ups with our veterinary cardiologist. Is it great news? Absolutely not. But it’s information we need to make decisions for his care.
Kato in the 2019 CVCA patient calendar
If you’re faced with a challenging health condition in your pet and referral is recommended by your regular veterinarian, you should be thankful! This shows your veterinarian wants what is best for you and your furry family members and they know that utilizing the skills and knowledge of cardiologists, neurologists and internal medicine specialists to name a few, could help your pet be healthier sooner and hopefully get you answers faster.
If you have questions about your pets’ medical conditions, or would like to consider referral, please ask your primary care veterinarian. I’m sure they would love to talk to you about the options to manage your pets’ care. If referral is out of your budget, ask your veterinarian if they have a way to consult with a specialist on your behalf. This won’t be the same as you taking your pet to the specialist, but they might give some more ideas to your primary vet about where to go next.
The following links are given for educational purposes only and to credit the sources I used in research.