Heart Murmur

[KendalRose]

Hi there,
I was reading over my puppy's medical sheet from when she got her first needles, and I didn't realize until now that the vet commented that she has a heart murmur on the left hand side, and next to it is written V/VI. I don't know if that's supposed to stand for the severity of the murmur, but this is really concerning me... I take her for needles in 2 weeks and I'm going to need to talk to my vet about it, but if it's between a 5 and a 6, then it's pretty bad (so I've researched). She's on 10 weeks old, will this go away? And I'm wondering if this may be the cause of her "collapsing" after playtime... (another post was posted about this concern). Sorry for all the questions, NEW boxer owner, never experienced anything like this. I've read that heart murmurs are common and often go away once the dog reaches a certain age, but with the possibility of it being V/VI, I'm scared that it won't.......

 

[Sablegirl]

I would call and ask the vet what the V/VI after murmur meant. I would think if murmur was bad vet would have told you. Hope it isn't anything serious and that pup outgrows murmur.

 

[Sansal]

I agree, I would call and ask. I can't imagine the vet not telling you it's a 5 or 6. He would have referred you to a specialist. Keep us posted, I hope everything turns out to be okay.

 

[KendalRose]

I definitely would, but the only problem is that these are the medical records the breeder gave me for her when I got her. I looked them over briefly when I picked her up, but never noticed the "heart murmur" comment until last night, therefore I don't know which vet it was that examined his puppies. I only know which office it was at, which is quite a ways from my house. She was diagnosed with the murmur when she got her 9 wk needles.

 

[darwinsmom]

As I am sure you have learned in your research murmurs are graded out of 6 with 6 being the loudest/most severe. The notes would seem to indicate a 5 out of 6 or a 5 or 6. I do not know if such a high grade murmur is of the type that will go away with age. However, with the breed's predisposition to a heat defect (aortic stenosis, narrowing of the aorta) that causes the murmur and your puppy's symptoms, you should definitely see a cardiologist. They will use an ultrasound (echocardiogram) to look at the heart. They will be able to see if there is stenosis, how severe it is, and measure the rate of blood flow.

I would be very upset with a breeder who sold a BOXER puppy without mentioning the possibility of heart problems in a particular dog.

 

[Sansal]

Wow, I would definitely call the breeder and ask him about it and also call the office where the exam was done, I'm sure they will be able to help you. I think you need to get your puppy in with your own vet asap as well.

 

[jacquim]

I agree about calling the breeder about it and getting your pup in to the vet sooner rather than later. The breeder should never have sold you the puppy without discussing the murmur with you. Raiden had a grade 2 murmur (which did close eventually) but the breeder discussed it with me prior to me taking him home. It was in his medical records that I was given and we had a conversation about it (now only if she would have told me that he was deaf too!). I also had him in to the vet within a few days of taking him home where the murmur was confirmed and the vet further discussed it with me and issues to watch for (collapsing was one of them).

 

[KendalRose]

Yeah, my boyfriend and mother agreed that he DEFINITELY should have discussed the murmur with me, or told me about it for that matter, prior to selling me the dog. He literally handed me the medical records as I was walking to my car with the dog, right after I paid him. My boyfriend also said I should have asked about any health problems (which is true), but I guess I just expected him to be honest enough to tell me about any known medical conditions at the time... "No news is good news", right? My boyfriend said it's too late to do anything about it now (he means with the breeder), which he is probably also right on that one, too. Like I said, I have to schedule her an appointment to get her needles within the next week, so I'll ask for a checkup too, so we can actually figure out how bad her murmur actually is, considering the medical records are using "roman numerals" apparently... (if that's what it means, anyway). I've tried to put my hand on top of her heart and feel, (because they say if it's a 5 or 6, you should be able to hear it/feel it without a stethoscope) and I don't know what the heck I'm feeling for... LOL. Anyway, to the vet my little girl goes soon!!! I really hope it's not that serious...

 

[KendalRose]

Even Bigger Issue Now...

So my mother contacted the vet from which Kendal received her nine week needles, and turns out her murmur is a 5-6. They told us that we would have to travel to a different province to determine what disease it was, and that it would cost roughly $500. Also, the vet told her that Kendal wouldn't live very long unless she were to undergo two or three major surgeries (which could result in $2000-$3000). I called MY vet today, and she said that dogs are hyped up over their trip to the vet, making the vet's job of listening to their heart a lot harder. She said they would take a look at her again to see if the murmur possibly went down, or if the reading was accurate. Also, she said a lot of places won't even undergo surgery for a dog with a murmur this severe because it usually ends up with them passing away during surgery. We'll see how it goes. My breeder failed to tell me about her heart murmur. He didn't mention it all. He only gave me her medical records AFTER I paid for her, and was walking to the car with her. Never opened it up to explain anything to us, therefore we're taking a lovely trip back to his place tonight.

 

[Sansal]

So sorry this is happening to you :( The breeder of course is a backyard breeder who most likely won't really care. If I were you I would demand the money back and use it for diagnosis and treatment. I hope it turns out to be less severe than it sounds. Please keep us posted.