My dog has heart disease and fluid in lungs. Can he recover?

Question

I have an 8 year old jack russell terrior and over the past 2 months he has had a heavy cough which would go away and come back. He has been on 2 series of medication. This time though his cough was very heavy and his body was sort of clicking. We brought him to the vet today she told us he has something wrong with his heart and his lungs are full of fluid. He is on a lot of medication now and he is in good care but all i want to know is will he pull through this or is it not looking good. Pet's info: Dog | Jack Russell Terrier | Male | neutered | 8 years and 7 months old | 16 lbs

Ann Dion, DVM · Accepted Answer

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Heart disease affecting the lungs occurs when the heart is unable to pump the blood forward well, and the pressure back-up in the lungs causes fluid to seep out into the lungs, and the lungs fill up like a sponge filling up with water. The medications for heart disease include a diuretic which will essentially 'ring out' that sponge. It pulls fluid out of the body, and therefore out of the lungs. For this reason Rocky will drink and pee a lot on the medication. The other medications work by making the heart pump better (Pimobendan is the usual drug of choice for this) as well as decreasing the blood pressure so the heart can pump in a forward direction more easily (ACE inhibitor usually). Depending on the level of heart disease your vet will choose 1, or all 3, of these medications. Some dogs respond very well to medications and can live for a while, with changes in the medications every once and a while. Some dogs unfortunately don't respond well to the medication. It all depends on how severe the heart is at this point, as well as how well Rocky will respond to medications. You can get an echo (ultrasound of the heart) to determine exactly how bad the heart is at this point, or just see how he responds to the medications. His best chance is to be diligent about his medications, don't let them run out as he will need to be on them for the rest of his life, and do your follow up appointments as your vet is recommending. Best of luck with Rocky.

My dog has heart disease and fluid in lungs. Can he recover?

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