Info on a cat with a heart murmur, please?

[Freedom]

I am posting for a friend of mine.

Oliver recently had his vet exam, and they found he has a heart murmur. It is a grade 2 out of 6. "He [the vet] ordered some tests and, depending on the results, Oliver may need an ultrasound and possible cardiologist referral. I am so sad for the little guy, he is such a lovebug. "

Oliver is a senior cat, but I'm not sure of his age.

Oliver's mum is concerned, and would appreciate ideas, advice, information.

Thank you, PT'ers!

[Karen]

Would you want to call in to the radio show today, and Ask the Vet? That might be a good question ...

[smokey the elder]

My Spike has that; it's a lower risk. He had ultrasound as a kitten, and a year later; when that showed no change the vet said don't worry about it. Good luck!

[mrspunkysmom]

Spunky supposedly has a grade 1. He's 10. I'll just monitor.

[Grace]

Didn't you post about another cat with a murmur, Henry, at the beginning of the month?

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthre...t=heart+murmur

I wonder if there is something in the water out there in Rhode Island

[moosmom]

A heart murmur can also be a sign of HCM Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.

Hypertrophic = abnormal enlargement of an organ
Cardio= heart
Myo = muscle
Pathy= disease

One of the symptoms of it can be syncope (fainting)

It is linked genetically and the only way to diagnose it is an ecg (echogardiogram of the heart) by a board certified cardiologist.

My dear friend has a Sphynx that has it. He was having fainting spells and one vet mis-diagnosed him with seizures. It wasn't until she had the scan done that they found it.

Have your friend ask her vet about it. To this day, I think that MooShoo had it, as it is more common in rare breeds like the Sphynx (he was only 10), although furred cats can also get it. My vet said it was Thrombosis. I just don't think so. Hind sight has 20/20 vision. All the signs he had (it came on very quickly) point to it. My heart is still broken.

Please keep us posted, Sandie.

[maerlyn]

Please tell your friend not to panic. At age 9, Mordred was diagnosed with a heart murmur (grade 4 of 6). He'd been to only one vet (the one who'd given him to me) all those 9 years, and she never found it, so there's no way of knowing how long he'd had it. Just one week after she had listened to his heart during his annual checkup, I just happened to have him to another vet for a second opinion on his teeth, and this second vet heard it right away! Mordred was given an x-ray in-house, and the doctor saw no signs of any disease. I made an appointment with a cardiologist, who did an ultrasound, and he also found no sign of disease. His only recommendation was to have Mordred checked by his GP twice a year and to return in 2 years for another evaluation. That was a year and a half ago; I'll take him this spring/summer back to the cardiologist. I figured that the cardiologist not wanting to see Mordred for a full 2 years meant that there wasn't much to worry about. He's doing very, very well with absolutely no symptoms whatsoever.