Myocardial Infarction, Heart Attack in Dogs.

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There was a reported case of a lovely dog who was on a walk with his owner last week, he reportedly slummed and died instantly, the confused owner said he had not noticed any prior sign of serious ailment before the unfortunate incident that took the life of his precious pet, one of the things that can cause such occurrence is Heart Attack in dogs, it is a scientific condition called myocardial infarction, do not be surprised because yes, heart attack happens to dogs as well.


dogster.com

Heart attack in dogs is as a result of the coronary arteries getting either leaked or blocked, this makes it gets cut off from the accessible flow of blood to the heart muscle, when the heart gets deprived of blood, it also means it will not get the required level of nutrients or oxygen, this will eventually kill the heart muscle and disrupt the ability of the heart to beat appropriately, the ability of the heart to pump blood to appropriate places is also cut off. One bad thing about heart attack lies in its ability to attack without a prior warning. Heart attack does not just come out of the moon, these are some of the caused reasons why heart attack happens to dog;

Hypothyroidism: This is a condition where the thyroid gland fails to adequately produce the hormone thyroxine, the thyroxine is responsible for the conversion of food into the energy required for body functionality.

Tumors: Tumors in dogs have the ability to obstruct the flow of blood into the heart muscle, that is, if the tumor grows around or grows on or grows around the heart's vasculature.

Vasculitis: This is an inflammation of the blood vessel caused by infection, endothelial lining harm and immune-mediated illness, causing the vasculature to become narrowed.

Kidney impairment: This is another sign of heart attack in dogs, creating a decrease in protein, the protein helps prevent the formation of blood clot, the process is known as-nephrotic syndrome, one of the main cause of heart attack is blood clots.

Bacterial infection: The presence of bacterial infection creates inflammation and blockage of blood flow to the heart muscle.

Atherosclerosis: This is a condition which is, although not so common in dogs, it makes plaque develop in arteries, limits the flow of blood or causes artery rupture.

Coronary artery disease is a rare condition in dogs, it happens with dogs who already have serious hypothyroidism and a high serum cholesterol level.

Obesity is another reason behind heart attack in pets, when your pet is overweight, there is a great possibility of the pet having an increased blood pressure and cholesterol.

Diabetes is caused from a high level of glucose, which can possibly damage blood vessel.


petlifesa.com

Symptoms of Heart Attack.

  • Vomiting.
  • Slight fever.
  • Abnormal breathing or intense panting.
  • Head tilt.
  • Stiffness.
  • Seizure.
  • Collapse.
  • Sudden death.

If there is any displayed sign of heart attack, do not panic, get a blanket to wrap your dog to keep them safe, only those with expertise in the field can provide CPR, unless there is an expert to provide such, please do not attempt to do it as it would create more harm than good, if your dog is vomiting or asphyxiating, do not provide water or feed at that point, panic created from the scene can make the animal begin to behave violent, keep them away from children and other pets.

Once the vets gets access to the pet, he will check the heart rate for every possible sign of murmurs, abnormal purses or presence of arrhythmias, laboratory tests would show necessary details about the cardiac functions that creates heart attack syndrome in the dog. Some available medical test options are;

  • Electrocardiography, is a test that helps with the determination of electrical impulses in the heart, and it also monitors arrhythmias.

  • Urinalysis is to carry out tests that observes the kidney and metabolic functions.

  • Complete blood cell count (CBC): This laboratory test helps to determine the available number of white and red blood cells in the body, it can also help detect infection.

  • Chest X-ray: This test is done to determine the size of the heart and the surrounding fluid, the available masses will be also studied.

  • Holer monitor is a simple instrument, usually a small machine, that can be used to monitor the heart health of the dog.

At the first instance, resuscitation and supportive care, is the first attempt and depending on how serious the situation is, the goal of a heart attack treatment is to help regain normal heart rate. Your pet may be hospitalized to help monitor heart beat until the veterinary doctor certifies that the pet is stable and ready to be discharged. Medications are given to pets and in some cases, surgery would have to be done to get rid of the mass that may be obstructing the flow of blood either from the heart or to the heart. Antibiotics taken will help in the prevention of further damage to the vessels and heart lining occurring as a result of inflammation or infection.

Once the pet has been certified to been stable, recurrence of such cases is greatly dependent on the cause of the problem as well as how severe the myocardial infection is. The administration of medication and surgery may be consistently administered to the pet for the rest of his life in order to maintain a strong health.

The most appropriate way to prevent heart attack, is to maintain the weight of your pet, provide them with an appropriate/healthy diet, make sure as well that your pet gets engaged in regular exercise, paying the vet a visit regularly would help identify the presence of any health issue and provide solutions to them as well.

References.

firstaidforpets.net

wagwalking.com

dogseechew.in/blog

smalldoorvet.com



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