Dog with heart failure and cough: Are his meds right? Lifespan?

Question

My almost 9 yr old morkie Toby ,was just diagnosed with enlarged heart, grade 3-4 heart murmur and CHF. He was started on Vetmedin and Lasix. At his last vet visit his lungs were clear and showed no fluid but he continues to cough. Are these the drugs of choice or should he be on something else? Also how long will he live with this condition? Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Small (up to 22lb) | Male | neutered | 8 years and 7 months old | 13.4 lbs

Angela Hinton, DVM · Accepted Answer

Hello there! I am sorry to hear about Toby's diagnosis. This is a common condition in a lot of dogs, especially smaller breeds. Without knowing all of the specifics of the testing done on Toby it sounds like you are on the right track since his lungs are clear. Some dogs may need additional medications though. If it hasn't been done already you could request an Echocardiogram ( an ultrasound of his heart) to ensure nothing else is needed. With all that being said, lots of dogs will still cough even if their heart disease is being managed perfectly and this is due to the actual enlargement of the heart (we can't fix that). The enlarged heart will often press up on the bronchus (part of the airways) and this will cause coughing too. If Toby seems to cough a lot and if it interferes with his resting/sleeping a cough suppressant could also be prescribed. It is so hard to predict how long a pet can live with a heart condition as there are so many factors that determine this. I will say that grade 3-4 is middle of the road in severity. So he may be able to live for many years as long as his symptoms are well controlled on his meds. Monitor his cough and if it seems to be getting worse then make sure to see your vet. Another thing you can monitor at home is sleeping respiratory rate (count how many times he breathes in a minute while sleeping). It should be less than 25-30. It's very helpful to check his regularly and keep a log. If Toby's rate is typically 20 and it is slowly creeping up over a few days then this could be a sign of relapse of the fluid in his lungs and would be a sign to get him in to his vet ASAP before it causes his distress. I hope you find this information helpful. I wish you and Toby all the best!

Dog with heart failure and cough: Are his meds right? Lifespan?

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