Heart Murmur In Cats Uk

So a scan would tell the specialist whether these cats have a preexisting condition or not.

Heart murmur in cats uk. Heart ultrasound echocardiography is very helpful as it allows a view of the internal dimensions of the heart the wall thickness and the contractility of the heart to be assessed. Heart murmurs are surprisingly common in cats. 1 being the minimum and 5 being the maximum.

A heart murmur is one of several types of abnormal sounds your veterinarian can hear when listening to your pets heart with a stethoscope. However the significance of a murmur very much depends upon the situation. Normally two distinct sounds are heard when listening to the heart of a normal dog or cat.

This is the only test which can readily distinguish between different types of heart disease in cats. In some cases affected kittens will actually outgrow the murmur as they reach maturity and the heart too grows to full functionality and this condition is fairly common and rarely impairs the cats heart function in later life. Lethargy low energy Exercise intolerance slowing down when playing or running.

Murmurs are commonly described as a whooshing sound and are a result of unstable blood flow in the heart. A heart murmur is caused by turbulent blood flow within the heart or the large vessels exiting from the heart. Ask your veterinarian to screen for these issues once a year in order to know if your Ragdoll needs further attention.

The prognosis depends on the cause of the heart murmur. A cat with a heart murmur that is caused by a structural heart disease or an extracardiac problem will generally have some sort of symptoms or clinical signs that can be attributed to the disease. Heart murmurs are very common in cats one study shows more than one third of cats have a heart murmur.

On its own a heart murmur is not a reliable indicator of heart function and is commonly found in healthy cats. It can also show where a heart murmur is originating from. Other symptoms for heart issues you can watch for during veterinary visits include a heart murmur abnormal lung sounds or irregular heartbeat.