heart murmurs

[Ronaldcm]

hey my female of 2years and 5 months was taken to an emergency vet for a really bad allergic reaction, and while she was in there the doctors said she has a level 3 murmur. That made no sense to me since she has never had any type of murmur her whole life, and we always give our boxers routine checkups. My question is can a boxer just all of a sudden get a level 3 murmur for no reason? We are going to get another opinion.

 

[mobrian]

I am glad you are getting a second opinion.

I am not a vet nor an expert but maybe
1. she has always had a heart murmur and had not been detected (grading a heart murmur is objective)
2. possibly it had something to do with the allergic reaction
3. if she is anemic for any reason that would give her a heart murmur while she is anemic
4. if she has heart worms that could make her have a heart murmur

I think there are probably numerous reasons why a heart murmur could just present it's self.

Good luck with your second opinion. If they detect the same thing you should see a cardiologist.

 

[matilda8255]

2. possibly it had something to do with the allergic reaction

Ditto! Your vet really shouldn't have made a diagnosis on a heart murmur after an allergic reaction. Murmurs are the most subjective thing to diagnose. Some allergic reactions can cause a slight arrythmia for up to two months after the allergy occured and if your pup was treated with steriods (common treatment for alleric reaction) their diagnosis is fairly useless because they can affect the heart beat temporarily as well. I would seek a second opinion but make sure you let the new vet/cardiologist know that your pup had an alleric reaction. They may want some time to pass before listening to the heart.

Stephanie

 

[courtney323]

Is this the same female that had a "healthy" 10 puppy litter? If so, then you would have been able to detect the heart murmer when you did your OFA heart testing on your bitch before she was bred. Curious as to what those results were...?

 

[Ronaldcm]

Yes she passed her ofa, she passed her blood work, and we even had x-rays done and they came out fine. This is even got my vet stomped she believes that maybe the heart mumor was caused by strain in the pregnancy, but that is hard for me to believe, someone mentioned something to me about a heartworm, do you know anything about those? Looking for answers.