The Doctor is In @ drwalt@petcareinsurance.com
Happy New Year to All!
I am particularly excited for this New Year as dear old St Nick has brought a particularly exciting Christmas present for those dogs suffering from congestive heart failure. This may catch some by surprise - "what, man's best friend can be afflicted with the same illness as people?" The answer is yes and, for those dealing with pets experiencing congestive heart failure, the goal of balancing treatment with the preservation of quality of life is an all-to-real daily struggle.
Briefly, congestive heart failure is a medical condition that occurs as a consequence to an underlying heart disease. Often, the first indication that a potential problem may exist is the discovery of a heart murmur by your veterinarian during your pet's annual physical examination. As the heart disease progresses, the body attempts to overcome this weakness and, in the early stages there may not be any outward symptoms.
Unfortunately, as the disease progresses, the body can no longer compensate and this can make the outward symptoms more severe. The eventual result is congestive heart failure, which is characterized by various symptoms including reduced exercise capacity and appetite, coughing, and breathing difficulties.
Dogs (and cats) can suffer from a variety of different heart diseases with the two most common in the dog (accounting for over 90% of heart disease in the dog) being a defective heart valve (often referred to as mitral valvular insufficiency) and a weakened heart muscle (commonly referred to as dilated cardiomyopathy or DCM). Estimates suggest that approximately 10% of dogs are affected by heart disease, not an insignificant figure! To date, treatment has been focused on alleviating the clinical signs and restoring the pet's quality of life.
Recently, a drug that represents an entirely new type of heart medication has become available for use in dogs suffering from either mitral valvular insufficiency or DCM. This new drug is called Vetmedin. Vetmedin is unique in that it address the root cause of congestive heart failure rather than focusing on alleviating the resulting symptoms. International and Canadian studies (preformed at the Ontario Veterinary College), clearly demonstrate the significant benefits that Vetmedin adds to the traditional congestive heart failure therapies that have been used to date. The result is not only added longevity, but an improvement in the pet's quality of life, which for the majority of pet owners, is the defining measure of success of any treatment.
From both the study results and anecdotal information from pet owners, the outcome is a pet that not only breathes easier and coughs less, but a pet that also rejoins the family as an involved family member with a renewed vigor for life.
Sound too good to believe? My personal experience, as someone that has worked with Boehringer Ingelheim (the manufacturer of Vetmedin) and the various researchers involved, is that Vetmedin translates the aforementioned study findings into true benefits for those dogs afflicted by mitral valve insufficiency and DCM, and will literally revolutionize the way veterinarians currently treat these diseases. So, if you have a dog suffering from congestive heart failure, contact your veterinarian to determine if Vetmedin would be something that your dog could benefit from as well.
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