Congestive Heart Failure in Dogs – Everything You Need to Know

Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) is a serious condition that can affect dogs of any age. While the disease cannot be cured, there are ways to help prevent it or reduce its symptoms though a special diet and physical activity program. Learn more about how to help your pup manage CHF here.

Symptoms of Congestive Heart Failure in Dogs

The most common symptoms to look for when diagnosing congestive heart failure in dogs include:

• shortness of breath
• difficulty breathing
• coughing
• wheezing
• abnormal gurgling sounds while breathing

Additionally, signs such as a bloated abdomen and/or lethargy may be indicative of congestive heart failure.

Diagnosing Congestive Heart Failure

When diagnosing congestive heart failure in dogs it is important to consider their medical history as well as physical signs like weakened lymph nodes and weakened gum colors that suggest decrease blood oxygen levels. Veterinarians will use specialized tests such as echocardiograms or x-rays to look at the dog’s heart size and shape before making a diagnosis.

If you are noticing CHF symptoms in your Dog, it’s important to bring them to your veterinarian as soon as possible for a diagnosis.

Causes of Congestive Heart Failure

The most common cause of congestive heart failure in dogs is dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), which is an enlargement of the left ventricle of the heart. This is due to a reduced contractility of the myocardial muscle fibers that weaken the pumping strength. Other causes include issues associated with valve diseases and things like mitral valve insufficiency, which can lead to fluid accumulation around the lungs and heart causing congestive heart failure symptoms.

Treatment for Congestive Heart Failure

There are various medications used to treat congestive heart failure in dogs including diuretics, ACE inhibitors, beta blockers, vasodilators, calcium channel blockers and digitalis glycosides like digoxin. Depending on the type and severity of CHF your dog has there are different medications they may take that could help alleviate symptoms or possibly even reverse them. Additionally, nutritional supplements such as Vitamin E can often be beneficial in some cases since this helps reduce oxidative damage done by free radicals to cell walls causing leakage of fluids into systemic circulation causing congestion leading to CHF symptoms.

Oxygen Therapy is often prescribed by veterinarians to lessen the severity of symptoms caused by CHF in dogs and can immensely improve your dog’s quality of life.

The prognosis for Dogs with Congestive Heart Failure

The prognosis for dogs with congestive heart failure depends on how quickly treatment begins following diagnosis; generally speaking, the prognosis is better if begun earlier rather than later down the line after more severe damage from CHF has set in within a dog’s body. However, there can still be ways through both dietary changes along with medication therapy administered by a veterinarian, used collaboratively together, to increase longevity and significantly improve the quality of life for animals diagnosed with this condition

Prevention Strategies for Congestive Heart Failure

Ideally one would consider implementing preventative strategies regarding identifying potential cardiovascular abnormalities long before presenting symptomatic indications for fatal health challenges like CHF occur.

Preventative tests include the annual completion of canine physical examinations performed by appropriately licensed veterinarians, who can then detect any potential underlying preexisting conditions. Certain dog breeds can be susceptible to CHF in their lifetime, so if you are the owner of one of the breeds below, you can make sure to ask your Veterinarian about testing for CHF early in their lifetime.

Breeds susceptible to CHF include:

• Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
• Dachshund
• Doberman Pinscher
• Collies
• Cocker Spaniels
• Pomeranians
• Poodles
• Shetland Sheepdogs
• Rottweilers
• Labrador Retrievers
• German Shepards
• Boxers
• Beagles