Will my senior dog's heart murmur shorten his life expectancy?

Question

Hiya, I have a cross Collie who is around 11. He was diagnosed with a heart murmur around a year ago to which we have to give him half a tablet of heart medication each day. I'm worried now that he has this murmur his life expectancy will be reduced. Can you let me know if this is the case please? Pet's info: Dog | Border Collie | Male | unneutered

Daniel Fonza, DVM · Accepted Answer

Hi there and thank you for using PetCoach to address your concern. Heart murmurs do not always progress to heart failure and do not necessarily mean that life expectancy is shortened. There was a trial recently done in multiple countries called the Epic Trial ( www.epictrial.com ). If x-rays have not been done for Toby (of his heart), I would recommend doing so to help establish where he is at in regards to the size of his heart. My dog, that lived until 20 years of age, had a heart murmur from the time he turned 9 years old. For 11 years he had a heart murmur that became louder and louder. He never went into heart failure and he lived a very long and happy life. Just because a dog has a heart murmur does not mean he / she will have a shortened life or go into heart failure. I hope this helps ease your mind. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Will my senior dog's heart murmur shorten his life expectancy?

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