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My Shih Tzu has fluid on lungs. Is Enalapril safe without a cardiac workup?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Shih Tzu | Female | 11 years and 7 months old | 14 lbs

11 y/o shihtzu 14 lbs taken to vet for chronic skin fungus, no other medical hx, I mentioned occasional cough, after listening to lungs, vet stated fluid on her lungs. He gave lasix 12.5mg bid x 1 week & upon return to vet fluid still present, now vet has given enalapril 2.5mg bid. Will the enalapril hurt her if she doesn't have any cardiac issues? Vet also gave this 2nd week injection of Winstrol-V injection (which makes her sore). Is it safe to give the enalapril without cardiac work up??

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2 Answers

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Answered By Jessica Keay, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on April 28th, 2017

I am sorry to hear about Abbey's problems! Enalapril is used for heart disease as well as other problems such as kidney protein-loss and high blood pressure. We do, however, like to monitor kidney values via bloodwork when giving enalapril along with lasix. Side effects of enalapril can include nausea, diarrhea, or inappetance. In some dogs we can see listlessness or lethargy as a result of drop in blood pressure. Some dogs can also get elevations in potassium levels. It would be best to have a more thorough workup if your vet suspects fluid in the lungs. A cough can be the result of numerous causes in older dogs and the only way to truly tell if there is fluid buildup in the lungs would be an x-ray. The x-ray would also let us evaluate heart size and check for other causes of coughing (infection, tracheal disorders, chronic bronchitis, masses). Depending on what is seen on the x-ray, an ultrasound of the heart may also be recommended (if we do see enlargement of the heart and fluid build up in the lungs this would be the next diagnostic step). Bloodwork would also be recommended to check the kidney values and the potassium levels when on this medication.

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    Answered By Jeffrey Milner

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    Winstrol is an anabolic steroid, so I am not sure what the purpose of this injection is this case. These drugs have some pretty serious side effects and should be used with extreme caution in any patient with suspected cardiac disease. Enalapril is a fairly innocuous drug as long as Abbey does not have any underlying kidney disease. However, in my experience, when adding enalapril to a treatment plan with lasix, I usually like to lower the lasix dose a little bit. Your veterinarian may have had a reason for making these decisions, but based only on the information you have provided me, I may have approached this case a little differently. I would not have prescribed lasix at all unless I performed a chest x ray so that I could visualize the fluid in the chest. I also would not have given the enalapril without first assessing Gracey's blood pressure, in order to see if the drug will have a positive effect. Gracey sounds like she might be a fairly complex case, so she is difficult to assess fairly without being in front of me. If you feel that she needs a cardiac work up and your current veterinarian is not providing one, you should seek another vet and explain the situation to them.

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