About three years ago my cat Diablo suddenly died at the age of 8. I was devastated, and took his body to the vet that same morning to asked through my tears "Why?? What happened??" He simply fell of the back of the sofa and hit the floor hard (he was a big cat) let out one pitiful meow and died. The vet said he could have been his heart, and it was not uncommon, and there was nothing I could have done. I was heartbroken.
A few months later we rescued 1 yr old Ezra from the shelter. He's just the sweetest cat, loving and gentle and has been to the vet for all his check ups and shots.
3 weeks ago the vet found a heart murmur. He goes back on Thursday for a follow up to see if it has gotten worse. He's only 4, and I'm really worried.
What is the cost involved in xrays and sonograms and testing?? And what is the ongoing cost of medicines and treatment? I'm not being harse here, but I lost my job and we're on a fixed income. I am being realistic about what we can afford.
Xrays and ultrasounds are part of the diagnostics and depending on the frequency needed, they can get a bit pricey, but they truly are the best diagnostics for monitoring heart disease, and they also give one an excellent "visual" where other diagnostics can't, so the cost is worth every cent.'
You have to ask your vet for quotes, vets charge different fees for different diagnostics. Don't delay these vital diagnostics, though, they are necessary and cost-effective.
A heart murmur doesn't always mean heart disease. Young cats with murmurs often are healthy and the murmurs oftentimes disappear. That's not to say you shouldn't get frequent health checkups and monitor with diagnostics, because you should. Also, if ever kitty needed a procedure that required anesthesia, you'd want that diagnostic history available and then concurrent testing to ensure heart health is A-OK prior to any proceudure or anesthetic.
And of course, with any murmur, you want to talk to your vet about exercise and activity (not over-exherting, etc), keeping stress reduced at all costs, ensure weight is appropriate so that no added stress is put upon the heart and lungs, and monitor the condition frequently with checkups.
You're probably already an "established" client, so your vet may be willing to make payment arrangements with you if you need advanced diagnostics. Don't be afraid to ask him about this. Also consider pet insurance or Care Credit, the latter has available options for no-interest depending on the duration of the payments, but be prepared you have to have good credit to be accepted. It doesn't hurt to apply!
Just to give you a monetary idea as to the cost of an ultrasound, one of my dogs had a couple, and it was $200. But again, she was a 60 lb dog. Not cheap, but reasonable to me.
He was diagnosed today as having HCM, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. He is a level 2-3 according to the vet. The xrays showed an enlarged heart, and his pulse was over 220.
I called to make an appointment with a specialist for an EKG, sonogram, BP, etc.
It will cost $485.
I spent $311 today.
What can the specialist do for him? Is this going to an ongoing thing, getting xrays and EKGs every 6 months?
The specialist can determine the extent of disease, cardiac output or stress, and recommend medications to slow progression or treat symptoms. Medications can help keep blood pressure in check and blood flow, prevent congestion, cardiac output obstruction etc. It really is a good idea to get frequent checkups early in diagnosis to ensure that nothing is missed and that implementing medications if necessary, are working, or might need adjusting. Likewise, it's a good idea to followup with a cardiologic exam every 6 months or so (or sooner if symptoms develop or worsen) because this allows him/her to monitor the heart and it's function and adjust treatment if necessary.
While relatively young for this, was hyperthyroidism tested for and ruled out?
Talk with the cardiologist in great detail, take notes, and follow his/her recommendations, early treatment can help greatly, can help slow the progression to some extent, and rarely, some cats have complete resolution depending on other factors. Get an owner handout sheet from the cardiologist so that you know what to expect, signs and symptoms to be very mindful and observant of, and follow up with the cardiologist as he/she advises. In the meantime, keep stress reduced for Ezra at all costs, restrict activities/stressful play etc and/unless your cardiologist advises otherwise.
Unfortunately we can't afford to see the cardiologist. Our vet said he understood and will manage Ezra's condition.
I spoke with my vet, and he has ruled out the thyroid, but discovered that his BSL was over 300, and there was glucose in his urine. He also borderline diabetic.
Ezra will begin taking an ACE inhibitor and asprin as a blood thinner. We'll have to deal with the diabetes seperately I guess.
Poor Ezra. He's a nervous cat, a bit spooky, I don't know how I'll keep him quiet since he loves to go outside.
Idgeesmom, I would caution you on this approach, or should I say your vet's approach. The ONLY way to accurately diagnose HCM is via a cardiologist, he is the only one who can differentiate this from something else (i.e., hyperthyroidism can oftentimes be mistaken for HCM, as can high blood pressure, or other cardiac problems, even renal failure). Not having a definitive diagnosis and then persuing medications without that definitive diagnosis could be dangerous. Plus, those medications must be dosed judiciously, cautiously, for the condition definitively diagnosed, NOT based on an assumption! Also, the use of aspirin could very well be contraindicated at this point, UNLESS you have a definitive diagnosis and warranted reason by the cardiologist to use aspirin!
The glucose is not always indicative for diabetes, it can elevate due to stress at the time of the blood draw (although if blood glucose is over 300 and the urine glucose is substantially high, diabetes could be ruled in). Glucose in the urine is not a good sign and may be indicative of diabetes, but vet must base this on both blood and urine glucose, and get a glucose curve done AT ONCE. Untreated diabetes is dangerous! And, while rare, a newly diagnosed diabetic cat could also exhibit signs of stress that might cause abnormalities on other exam findings (like the heart), this is true of any primary condition associated with a secondary condition. Ideally, a fructosamine level should also be done to determine glucose levels within the last several weeks for better accuracy.
Please understand that either condition must be diagnosed as absolute before starting treatment as an assumption. I understand your concerns about affordability, but I would be more concerned about not having a definitive diagnosis and starting treatment that may not be warranted, or correctly at this point (which in turn could turn out much more costly). Btw, xrays are not enough to diagnose heart conditions, much can be lost and not viewable on film, an ECG and EKG are better diagnostics because they give you a visual on the heart's size, shape, function, capacity and can view fluids and leakages, etc. Your vet can't determine these functions with an xray!
