Does heart failure get better?

[greenetuckian]

This summer my 10 y.o. St. Bernard was diagnosed with heart failure after I took him to the vet for constant coughing and gagging that was not getting any better. The vet tested him for heart worms and since that test was negetive he put him on Enalapril and prescribed an antibiotic in case he had Kennel Cough. Though the antibiotic had no effect the Enalapril seemed to help quite a bit for awhile.

About a month ago I had to increase the dose of Enalapril to 40mg/day and it was no longer keeping the cough in check. Since i figured that I had nothing left to loose and after researching on the internet about K9 coughing I hit upon a possibility of "lung worms". I tried a store digestive tract dewormer and the coughing got a little better. I then tried a three day course of a general dewormer and since then the symptoms have improved to where he does not cough at all though he still tires easily after a short evening walk. I have reduced the Enalapril back down to 20mg/day and I am considering cutting on down to 10mg to see how he does.

My questions are has anyone been through this? Do heart failure symptoms get better sometimes or could the vet have made a misdiagnoses because of assumptions based upon Cedric's size and age?

P.S. Ced will turn 11 on Friday and from what I have read 12 is about the maximum life expectancy for a St. Bernard.

[EarthMama]

We've never had Saints before but we've had our share of dogs and done a lot of rescue, as well as have been active in our local dog training clubs 'n such.

Actually, if you get a Saint to live to 10 years old you're doing really well. A 12-year-old Saint is ancient! :-[

I have a hard time with the fact that your vet isn't helping your dog. I personally have no patience for that. I would get a 2nd opinion, if it were my dog.

Good luck with your precious furry family member.

Edited to say:

You really ought to get any future dogs you own on a monthly heartworm preventative. It's not that expensive and saves a LOT of heartache and sadness, not to mention suffering by the dog.

Also, if your dog does have "lung" worms, I wouldn't think a digestive tract wormer would do anything.... or any wormer, for that matter, that wasn't specifically for lung worms (which I've never heard of, btw, but that doesn't mean a whole lot either!).

Along with heart failure comes fluid in the lungs, which is extremely easy to detect by a vet.... or by you too. Shortness of breath is a big symptom, caused by the fluid build-up. But that's a very standard diagnosis for a vet to be able to make. I hope your vet is competent enough to at least do that.

I am so sorry about your dog feeling poorly, especially around his birthday. Bless his heart. :-/

[greenetuckian]

Thanks for your input EarthMama.

As and update Ced is still doing much better than before. Oh he does still exibit some coughing but not nearly the hacking cough he had earlier. He does not show signs of shortness of breath but he does tire reletively easily and cannot get himself upstairs at night without my assistance and he does fall sometimes especially when playing.

The wormer I used was Panacur C which is supposed to treat parasites other than intestinal. Most dewormers treat intestinal parasites by paralyzing them allowing them to be expelled naturally from the body.

I cannot find much but have seen some info that heart worms and lung worms are the same thing so perhaps the vet got a false negative from the HW test and I have simply killed a bunch of HW and left them as ticking time bombs in his system.

All in all though at least he has passed his 11th birthday and seems to be improving with each passing day. He is gaining weight and is less lethargic. If nothing else perhaps I have made his last days less painful and a bit happier.

[fnfredux]

I'm going to try this a THIRD time.
I had a small dog, terrier cross. She developed a bad cough at a little over 14 years old. The vet said it was a bad heart, heart "failure". He prescribed Lasix (yes, the human kind) and Digitalis(yes, the human kind) which I bought from him at the crazy price of $0.10 a pill. So, this small investment (only one pill a day of each, halved) bought Niki another year of life. She had bad days and great days and mostly quiet but peaceful days. she died at 15, not so bad. Most of my dogs seem to pass at 15, big or small, it seems to be the common lifespan.
Oh, you might want to check with your vet, tapeworms could be a cause of many problems, I read the whole life cycle etc. of some knid of rabbit parasite. One of my girls had tapeworms, rabbits are a common source in the country.
ONLY SPECIFIC TAPEWORM wormer works on tapeworms. I KNOW. The vet assured me that Panacur would work on "everything"
it DIDN'T. The D-Worm(brand name) took care of the problem. Probably less than $20.00. My dog had no ill effects. http://www.1800petmeds.com/productpress.jsp?id=62&adate=04.08.2008
and even tho articles say tapeworms don't really harm a dog, I think they do by dirupting digestion and stealing nutrition. So maybe you might want to google some info. If you live in the country, and your dog runs, he most like had tape worms.

[EarthMama]

Thanks for your input EarthMama.

All in all though at least he has passed his 11th birthday and seems to be improving with each passing day. He is gaining weight and is less lethargic. If nothing else perhaps I have made his last days less painful and a bit happier.


You're very welcome, Greenetuckian, and I agree with you 1000%. Give your sweet baby a pat on the head for me. :)

[momma_to_seven_chi]

You might ask your vet about using a diuretic such as lasix rather than an ACE inhibitor. Enalapril is a human drug too, but an ACE inhibitor. Using a diuretic would give him more energy than using an ACE.

Heart failure can be controlled for years, but it is eventually fatal. Your vet may have heard a leak from the valves which led him to the heart failure diagnosis. It isn't always a weak pumping action that can cause the disease, sometimes leaky valves cause it too.

Your dog has obviously had a great life with a loving owner. May his remaining years be healthy and joyful.