Cardiology

Overview

Cardiology is the branch of medicine that specializes in the heart, lungs, blood vessels, and circulatory system. Diseases of cardiology in exotic pets can include atherosclerosis, cardiomyopathy, cardiomegaly, and hypertension. Assessing the health of your pet’s heart is a routine part of every checkup at our center. This is especially important because if your pet is born with congenital heart disease, it can lead to heart failure. Heart failure is also more common in older pets. Whether your pet is born with a congenital heart defect or is just getting older, the best way to prevent heart failure is by catching the problem early. The sooner we can intervene, the better chance we can give your pet a longer and healthier life.

Cardiology Treatment for your Pet

The symptoms of heart disease vary widely, and in some animals don’t show at all. The common symptoms of heart diseases include: coughing, difficulty breathing, loss of appetite, weight loss, behavior changes, and rear limb weakness. If your pet is experiencing any of these symptoms, it could mean their heart is working inadequately and their condition could potentially lead to heart failure. Many of the diagnostic tools, medications, and treatments used to help keep human heart patients alive and healthy are also available to pets, and management of a heart disease will depend on the severity. If the disease doesn’t produce or show symptoms, treatment may not be necessary, but the animal will need to be monitored. For animals that develop symptomatic heart failure, a combination of drugs can be used to increase the life expectancy from months to years.