If you are a true pet lover and not someone who uses you pet to get women (Deer, 2017, January 4) this blog article is for you. It’s quite possible that your dog may experience a heart attack.
The first sign of which may be your dog collapsing suddenly! So what is Canine Heart attack?
Canine Heart attack – Sleeping Dogs may have experienced a Heart Attack
In a nutshell, a heart attack or myocardial infarction (Vetary, 2017) happens when blood cannot reach the heart muscle or myocardium. This causes the heart muscle to die and the affected heart chamber can no longer effectively pump blood. Blood clot or thrombus within the blood vessels or heart is a common cause of heart attacks.
Canine heart attacks have been seen in all breeds and are very rare. Heart attacks require emergency medical attention and yes, as in humans, sudden death is certain. Also DO NOT PERFORM CPR on Dogs; their Physiology is far different from that of humans!!!
There is little warning for a heart attack event; collapse may be the first symptom observed.
However, if you bond with your dog regularly, you should be able to spot these signs:
- Slight fever (over 103° Fahrenheit/39.4° Celsius)
- Vomiting Panting/abnormal breathing
- Increased heart rate
- Lethargy
- Head tilt
- Confusion/Anxiety
- Immobility
- Rigidity
- Seizure
- Collapse
- Sudden death
Please note that for large breeds, anything over 100 beats per minute is a sure sign of a hypertensive dog that has a risk profile for a heart attack. Ditto too for small breeds, for who 140 beats per minute is way too much. So what causes heart attack in dogs?
Causes of Canine Heart attack – Diet and Genetics and the Veterinarian can help
The causes of Heart Attack in Dogs are varied but the causes are the same as in humans: diet and genetics. The conditions listed below are evidence of this:
- Tumor
- Hypothyroidism
- Nephrotic Syndrome
- Bacterial infection
- Vasculitis
- Atherosclerosis
- Coronary artery disease
Tumor masses growing on or around the heart vasculature can block blood flow to the heart muscle. In the case of Hypothyroidism, the Thyroid gland does not produce thyroxine hormone – responsible for converting food to fuel for the body.
Nephrotic Syndrome is damage results in loss of protein involved in preventing blood clot formation. Bacterial infection can lead to inflammation and blockage of blood flow to the heart muscle. Atherosclerosis is due to plaque buildup and weakens the walls of the arteries, causing arteries to rupture. Coronary artery disease is extremely rare in dogs and occurs only with severe hypothyroidism and associated high serum cholesterol levels.
So if your dog is having a Heart Attack, get him comfy, out of the sunlight and call your local veterinarian.
References:
- Vetary (2017). Heart Attack in Dogs. Retrieved from https://www.vetary.com/dog/condition/heart-attack
- Deer, L. (2017, January 4). Altruism and Why Women have Sex with Men who give Blood and Love Pets. Retrieved from https://lindsworthdeer.wordpress.com/2017/01/04/altruism-women-men-sex/
Lindsworth Deer’s MICO Wars: The Teacher Force Awakens 