best dog food for senior dog with enlarged heart

Enlarged Heart in Dogs: Explanation & Tips from a Vet

Key points

• Requires diagnosis by a veterinarian.
• Treatable by a veterinarian.
• Not transmissible to other animals or humans.
• Usually a lifelong condition.
• Prevention is possible for some causes.
• Diagnosis may require a physical examination, lab tests, x-rays, ECG, and echocardiography.

Common in:

Older dogs of both sexes; occasionally in young dogs with a congenital condition. Certain breeds, such as Cavalier King Charles Spaniel or Doberman, are at higher risk. Heartworm can affect dogs of any age.

Symptoms and types:

A dogs heart may become enlarged for several different reasons, including leaky valves, genetic problems with the heart muscle, or a congenital condition (one that they are born with) such as a hole in the heart. A severe heartworm infection will also cause an enlarged heart.

In the early stages, an enlarged heart may not cause any symptoms. In the later stages, we can see a variety of symptoms from heart failure, including:

• Reluctance to exercise
• Breathing faster at rest
• Coughing
• Lethargy (quietness)
• Weight loss
• A swollen belly
• Collapsing episodes

Very sadly, in some cases, the first symptom of a heart condition may be sudden death.

Dogs with an enlarged heart are at an increased risk of sudden death (a heart attack) and so may pass away at home.

Understanding the diagnostics

Your veterinarian may suspect that your dogs heart is enlarged if they hear a murmur when they listen to your dogs chest, or if your dog has an irregular heartbeat. However, not all heart conditions cause these changes, so they may also run tests if your dog has symptoms that fit with heart disease.

Blood tests

Your veterinarian may run general blood tests to look at your dogs overall health. There are also heart-specific blood tests like pro-BNP and cardiac troponin. Heartworm can also be tested for.

X-rays

An enlarged heart is usually visible on x-rays. Your veterinarian can look at the outline of the heart to try and determine exactly which chambers of the heart are enlarged.

X-rays also allow your veterinarian to look for enlarged blood vessels or signs of fluid in the lungs, which can help to determine how well your dogs heart is working.

Ultrasound (echocardiography)

An ultrasound scan of the heart (called an echocardiogram) allows a veterinarian to look inside the heart, measure the size of the different chambers, examine the valves, and see how the blood is flowing through the heart.

This is usually the best way to look at the structure of the heart, but it needs specialized training. Some regular veterinarians are trained to perform these scans, but often you will need to see a veterinary cardiologist for this.

Learning about the causes

There are many different causes of an enlarged heart, but we will talk about the most common ones here.

Myxomatous Mitral Valve Disease (MMVD)

This is a common cause of an enlarged heart in older dogs, and is usually seen in dogs weighing less than 55lb (25kg). It is an age-related condition where one of the valves in the heart (the mitral valve) becomes thickened and stiff. This causes it to start leaking, which means the heart is not pumping blood out of itself as effectively as it used to. As a result, this extra blood stretches the heart and causes it to become enlarged.

Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM)

DCM is usually a genetic heart disease that is seen in large- and giant-breed dogs such as Dobermans, Boxers, and Great Danes, but also in Cocker Spaniels. It is caused by a faulty gene that weakens the heart muscle, meaning that over time the heart becomes unable to pump blood around the body as effectively. This causes the walls of the heart to stretch and become thin, which leads to an enlarged heart.

In rare cases, DCM is seen in other breeds. This is thought to be due to low levels of Taurine in the diet, which the heart needs to function properly. It leads to the same weakness in the heart muscles.

Congenital Heart Conditions

Congenital conditions are those that a dog is born with. Many different congenital conditions can cause an enlarged heart, including:

• Valve problems (mitral valve dysplasia, tricuspid valve dysplasia, aortic stenosis, pulmonic stenosis)
• Holes in the heart (Atrial or Ventricular Septal Defects)
• Patent Ductus Arteriosus

Heartworm

Heartworm infections can occur in dogs of any age and are caught from mosquito bites. The enlarged heart is caused by worms in the heart, or in the blood vessels around it. This causes a blockage that leads to a buildup of extra blood in the heart, which stretches it, and it enlarges over time.

There are no effective home remedies to treat heart disease you must see a veterinarian and follow their advice.

Best treatment options

Many of the treatments for an enlarged heart are similar. Your veterinarian can discuss which of these treatments may be appropriate for your dog.

Pimobendan (Vetmedin)

This medication helps the heart to beat more strongly, and dilates blood vessels to relieve the pressure on the heart. It can be used to treat dogs with MMVD or DCM who are not yet showing symptoms, and has been proven to slow the progress of these diseases, meaning your dog gets a better quality of life for longer. It is also used to improve symptoms in dogs who are showing signs of heart failure.

Diuretics

This class of drugs act to dilate blood vessels and cause extra fluid to be removed by the kidneys, which can relieve pressure on the heart and improve the symptoms of heart failure.

Examples include:

• Frusemide/Furosemide
• Torsemide/Torasemide
• Hydrochlorothiazide

ACE inhibitors

These drugs act to dilate blood vessels to reduce the burden on the heart, and may also slow the progress of some types of heart disease.

Examples include:

• Benazepril
• Enalapril
• Ramipril
• Lisinopril

Heartworm treatment

Dogs who have heartworm need special treatment for this. It is quite complex and can be expensive, but sadly if it is not done then the chances are the infection will be fatal.

Surgery

Mitral valve replacement is a common procedure in humans, but a new and rare one in dogs. It is very expensive and requires a high-level specialist facility, but can have excellent results.

Home remedies and their effectiveness

There are no effective home remedies to treat heart disease you must see a veterinarian and follow their advice.

If your dog has been diagnosed with heart disease, there are some non-medication treatments you can give them:

• Special low-sodium diets designed for dogs with heart disease have been shown to help in some cases.
• Essential Fatty Acid supplements may also be beneficial.

However, you should check with your veterinarian before starting either of these.

When to see a vet

If your dog is showing any of the symptoms of heart failure, you should see your veterinarian straight away.

5 Best Dog Foods for Heart Murmurs (2024)

How to Choose the Best Dog Foods for Heart Murmurs

Heart murmurs are described as an unusual heart sound. They are most commonly discovered during a veterinary visit when the doctor listens to the dogs heart through a stethoscope.

Heart murmurs are graded on a scale of one through six with one being the least serious and six of the greatest concern. Heart murmurs can be genetic but often are the result of some disease. They are classified as physiologic or pathologic. Murmurs considered to be pathologic are typically brought on by a pre-existing structural heart condition.

Diagnosing a heart murmur can be very difficult as some are challenging to detect through a stethoscope. While a grade one murmur is barely audible and most often reserved to a specific area of the chest, a grade six is extremely loud and resonates throughout the chest cavity. Grade six murmurs can also be felt by the human hand.

Physiologic heart murmurs are not likely to pose any risk to a dogs ongoing health. They are often discovered in young puppies. As the puppies age, it is quite normal for the heart murmur to simply disappear altogether though this is not always the case.

Dogs affected with pathologic heart murmurs will often exhibit other symptoms which indicate an underlying issue with the heart. The most common signs dogs with pathologic heart murmurs will exhibit are:

• Loss of appetite
• Weight loss
• Abbreviated growth
• Respiratory distress
• Exercise intolerance
• Fainting
• Pale gums
• Irregular heartbeat

If a veterinarian suspects a dog may have a pathologic heart murmur, other tests may be recommended to help determine the best path of treatment. These include x-rays, an electrocardiogram, and an ultrasound.

Physiologic heart murmurs typically require no treatment. However, pathologic heart murmurs may need to be managed through the use of cardiac support diets and medications.

Since diet can play a critical role in heart health, a change of nutrition is an excellent way to assist dogs suffering from heart murmurs, particularly of the pathologic variety. The best dog foods for heart murmurs often contain supplemented vitamins and minerals such as taurine to encourage healthy cardiac function.

Choosing the Correct Calorie Count for Foods for Dogs with Heart Murmurs

Determining the correct amount of the best food for dogs with heart murmurs can be a difficult task. Thankfully, all foods come with suggested serving sizes printed on their packaging. These form an excellent guideline from which owners can work to ascertain the correct portion for their dog.

Owners should adjust the amount of food they feed their dog to reflect the dogs own unique weight, activity level, and appetite. Free feeding should be strongly discouraged as it can easily lead to weight gain, putting unnecessary strain on the heart.

Adult dogs should receive a diet that is 18 percent protein and 5 percent fat. By comparison, puppies require slightly higher amounts of both of these food categories with 22 percent protein and 8 percent fat considered to be ideal.

Dietary Requirements for Foods for Dogs with Heart Murmurs

There are many things owners can do to help dogs suffering with heart murmurs. Maintaining a healthy body weight is an important part of keeping the heart functioning at peak capacity. Often dogs with heart murmurs suffer from a poor appetite which can easily lead to lost muscle mass which translates to poor immunity, reduced life expectancy, and low energy reserves. A high quality, flavorful diet will help encourage dogs with low appetite to eat more heartily.

As with all dogs, dogs with heart murmurs do best on a diet that is based on a lean meat-based protein. Ideally, a whole meat is the preferred choice; however, meat meals also contain a dense amount of protein that is an excellent foundation for any of the best foods for dogs with heart murmurs.

Contrary to popular opinion, reduced amounts of protein are not preferable for dogs with heart murmurs. Though for most dogs, avoiding diets based on by-products or plant-based proteins is preferred, prescription diets do favor some of these items in their formulations. Since these may prove beneficial to compromised heart function, these foods can be a good choice for dogs with heart murmurs.

Artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, and ingredients high in sodium should be avoided as they contain no beneficial nutrients. Excess sodium can cause fluid retention, placing additional strain on the heart.

Healthy fats are an important part of every diet suited to dogs. These are best derived from animal origins such as chicken fat or oily fish. These types of fats contain high amounts of omega 3 and 6 fatty acids which contribute to healthy joint function as well as good skin and coat quality.

Supplements such as glucosamine, chondroitin, prebiotics, and probiotics can also be a vital help for dogs with heart murmurs. These powerhouse ingredients encourage fluid digestive processes and joint health.

Carbohydrates from whole grains, fruits, and vegetables should be highly digestible and rich in antioxidants to support a healthy immune system.

In addition to these items, dogs with heart murmurs can benefit from foods rich in the following vitamins and minerals:

• Vitamin A
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin E
• Taurine
• L-Carnitine
• Co-Enzyme Q-10

Things to Look for in the Best Dog Foods for Heart Murmurs

Here is a basic list of the most important things to look for in a dog food for heart murmurs:

• Whole meat or meat meal proteins heading up the ingredients list
• Prepared without the addition of chemicals, flavorings, fillers, or mystery ingredients
• Enriched with probiotics and helpful supplements
• Meets AAFCO nutritional requirements for a complete and balanced food
• Low in sodium to help prevent fluid retention and high blood pressure in dogs