Traci and others--cat with murmur, small heart

[Helen--Petey, Squeaky,Mur]

Traci, my 7-year old cat, Petey has a mild heart murmur. X-ray revealed a heart somewhat smaller than normal. do you know what the casue of this is likely to be? He is scheduled for a cardio workup on Thursday--echo-cardiogram, blood pressure check, etc. should I ask them to do anything else? What questions should I ask when i get the results? Thanks--

[Traci]

Helen, it depends on the grade...sometimes mild murmurs don't escalate into further problems, but your vet wants to do the ECG, etc to hopefully determine the cause and effects so that he can determine what treatment approach may be necessary, if any. The causes are numerous, from congental, endocarditis, patent ductus arteriosus, mitral valve displaysia, atrial or ventricular septal defects, tricuspid valve, and cardiomyopathies.

If the ECG doesn't reveal anything significant, he may want to opt for an ultrasound or refer you to a feline cardiologist for further diagnostics. If the ultrasound is insignificant, you may only need to monitor the murmur frequently for progressive signs or associated conditions, one of which would be to test for hypothyroidism if this hasn't been done already.

I too, have two kitties with mild murmurs and we are simply monitoring them. Neither has hypothyroidism, although one has CRF, which I feel is unrelated. Stress and exhaustive exercise/play are kept to a minimal, you will want to do the same for Petey, your vet will instruct you on the necessities once the cardio workup has revealed anything. At this point, you will want to rule out primary illness that may or may not be associated with heart disfunction, with geriatric blood screening + thyroid panel if this hasn't been done already.

Hang in there Helen, here's hoping it is nothing serious.....(((Hugs)))

[Guest]

Thanks, Traci, will let you know the results from Petey's EEG and workup when I learn them. I am going out of town for a week soon so it may be a while. This concerns me some but Petey seems fine and my friend who takes care of the cats cares for them very well.

Thanks too for all your help previouly with Pegasus. I still miss him, of course, but the new cat, Murphy, rescued from the neighbors, is like Pegasus in some ways.
Helen