Why did my dog's CHF cough improve after stopping enalapril/vetmedin?

Question

Can enalapril and vetmedin be making my dogs CHF cough worse? He’s been on it for a year and I recently tried 3 days without it and he seems like a different dog for the better and cough isn’t nearly as bad. Pet's info: Dog | Chihuahua (Long Coat) | Male | neutered | 10 years and 7 months old | 9.6 lbs

Linda G, MS, DVM · Accepted Answer

Hello. CHF is a dynamic disease & thus can change. But usually symptoms worsen with time & age. This may be a very complicated question in that Max may never had CHF to begin with. It is sometimes a bit difficult to determine if a pet may only have mild heart enlargement, perhaps a mild cough & the diagnosis is heart failure, when in reality, all Max has is a case of chronic bronchitis. I am absolutely not saying that your vet was wrong, just a possible explanation why Max seems to be doing better off the medications. My suggestion is to try & have Max evaluated by a veterinary cardiologist. He may just need a dose adjustment to his meds, or he may not be in CHF. I would not just stop his meds without talking to your vet, but he may need a true cardiology workup. I see you are in NC, so if you can get to the veterinary college affiliated with NC State, that would be an excellent place to start. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Why did my dog's CHF cough improve after stopping enalapril/vetmedin?

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