Congestive Heart Failure and the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Since Ginger was about 6 years old, I have taken her to the ALL BREED HEALTH CLINIC in Tinton Falls, sponsored by the MID-JERSEY LABRADOR RETRIEVER CLUB, INC.  I decided to start taking her to the clinic yearly to get her eyes and heart checked.

Surely enough at the age of 8, the Cardiologist heard some regurgitation.  As the cardiologist explained it, it is very common in the Cavalier King Charles spaniel.   As years went by the regurgitation got louder and louder, fast forward to 2018.  I started care with the same Cardiologist and would bring her in every 6 months to monitor the Mitro-Valve Disease that she had developed.

If you are not aware of Mitro-Valve Disease, MVD is a degeneration of the heart’s mitral valve, one of four sets of valves in a dog’s heart. A dog’s heart valves’ leaflets must open and close tens of thousands of times a day to maintain uni-directional blood flow through the heart.  When the valves open, they direct blood flow forward to where it is supposed to go, and when they close, they prevent blood from going backward to where it is not supposed to go. The mitral valve is located between the left atrium and ventricle.   As the mitral valve degenerates, the valve no longer fully closes after each pumping action, allowing some blood to flow backwards through them from the ventricle back into the atrium. As the condition worsens, more and more blood is able to back flow through the valve as the leaflets of the valve begin to flail. MVD usually results in heart failure in the CKCS. (Cavalier Health . org)

When I took Ginger in for her February 1^st, 2019 appointment that is when we were told that her heart had enlarged.  The cardiologist put her on Pimobendan and wanted to see her in 6 months.  In May of 2019, we took a family vacation and had her stay with a sitter who cared for older dogs.  When we picked her up, we noticed her coughing.  After about a week, I noticed it getting worse and we took her in to see her vet.  He pressed her trachea and diagnosed her with  Kennel Cough, (apparently when you press it, dogs will cough).  He sent us home with antibiotics and a cough suppressant.  We saw some improvement but the cough did not clear up 100 percent.  One night in August, she had a massive coughing fit and we were up with her at 3:00 am.  I was so worried, I could not sleep.  My neighbor’s dog Jack was diagnosed with kennel cough and Ginger and Jack do like to greet each other in between the fence so I though perhaps she caught it again.

We took her back in to see the Vet the following day.  He thought it was odd that she would get it again but he did say that there are various strains of Bordatella, so again he sent us home with antibiotics and more cough suppressant.  He did however; want to take a chest x-ray to make sure she did not have fluid in her lungs.  She did have a little fluid in her lungs but did notice how large her heart looked in the x-ray.  Nevertheless, he suggested we finish the antibiotic and suggested we see her Cardiologist.  I already had a September 1st appointment to take her in for her 6-month follow up.

At that appointment the cardiologist listened to her heart as usual, they took her to the back to take another chest x-ray and echo-cardiogram.    When he returned, he explained that things had become significantly worse.  Her heart had enlarged even more; she had developed some pulmonary edema, as well as a clot near her heart.  Ginger was diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure. (CHF).  As you can imagine, my heart sunk.  I could not help but break down with the news remembering thinking she would not make it into the weekend.

The changes resulted in her staying on the Pimobendan, as well as starting the new meds Lasix, Plavix and Enalapril.  Lasix also known as furosemide, is a diuretic used in dogs as a part of the medical management of congestive heart failure, and other conditions where the body retains too much fluid.  Plavix an anticoagulant that can prevent and/or dissolves blood clots.  Enalapril is an (ACE) inhibitor used to treat high blood pressure and used in conjunction with other medications for the treatment of heart failure.

As you can imagine, this news was devastating but we went home and started her meds and I researched as much as I could about what I could do to help support her.  I looked into nutrition and started to cook her food.  I have some recipes; if you would like me to share them, feel free to let me know.

On September 14th, we went in to see a Holistic Vet.  The reason for this is to see if they could help support her while taking these prescription drugs.  During the appointment, she had acupuncture done and given supplements to take home.  Those included an herbal tincture made by the holistic vet, as well as, Cardiotrophin.  There were other protocols given for us to follow.

Finally, I brought Ginger in to see the cardiologist on October 1^st for her follow-up. Thankfully, her clot disappeared and she appeared to be stable, in other words nothing else has changed for the worse.  As a result the vet wants to see her in another four months.  She also goes back on October 19^th for her second visit to the holistic vet.

As of today, October 15^th she continues to do well.  She still has her appetite and is her peppy self.  She still plays with some of her toys and enjoys short walks.

I understand this has been a long post but I wanted to share it with those who have a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel that may be in  CHF.  It can be managed if caught early, so please don’t lose hope!  I have included an article below on how vigilance is key.

If there is one takeaway from this post is to get your dog checked if they are coughing.  I remember reading on the internet that a heart cough sounds like a cat coughing up a hairball.  Gingers cough was dry but she would gag at the end, so I assumed otherwise.  A cough is a cough and should be checked regardless.  This can make all the difference in the world!

As of now, we have a good balance.  We are keeping her calm (no-stress) and spoiling her as much as we can.  I am cherishing every waking moment  I have with her, because again this horrible disease is progressive and things can change from one day to the next.

If you would like to attend one of these clinics and live in NJ, below is the link with more information

https://www.mjlrc.org/about.html

Here is a great article on MVD and the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel