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March 2004
Eliot Kaplan, DVM
Just in the last couple of months, a drug has become widely available in Canada to treat dogs in congestive heart failure. Dogs that are considered to be in congestive heart failure are dogs that have heart disease, which is causing symptoms such as coughing, fainting, weakness, enlarged abdomen from fluid accumulation in the abdomen, and breathing difficulty. A dog suffering from congestive heart failure will usually not show all the listed symptoms but often have signs of at least one or two.
The medication that has recently become available is called pimobendan. It is given twice daily and has very few if any side effects. Pimobendan works by increasing the strength at which the heart can contact, and by dilating blood vessels so the blood flows easier through the body. I have used this drug on several of my patients and the results have been very good. In many cases, it can increase the lifespan of the dog and the quality of life of the dog significantly.
At this time, this drug has not been shown to be beneficial in dogs that have heart disease such as heart murmurs, but are not clinically affected. In other words, if you have a dog with a heart murmur but the pet is now showing any symptoms as a result, then do not use Pimobendan. It is like the old adage says, if it is not broken, then don't try to fix it. |
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