Possible Arrhythmia in Dog

kylith

Just back from my dogs' annual checkup and the vet said that she'd like me to bring the older one back in a month as she may have an arrhythmia. The dog isn't showing any symptoms of ill health, other than coughing once every couple of days.

The vet said that it'll involve sedating her, taking blood, and getting an x-ray. Can anyone give me an idea of whether or not she'd have to stay overnight for the tests, and what might be involved if she is diagnosed with one?

SillyMangoX

Probably wouldn't have to stay overnight depending on if she reacts well to the sedation or not, but in general it's very easy and painless for them and they come home in the evening. As to what will be involved, it depends on what is found but there are some brilliant heart medications out there at the moment!

mymo

The coughing can be an indicator of heart problems, and the vet will probably take the dog in first thing in the morning and you can collect in afternoon. (so long as sedation wears off in time, all dogs react different)
Don't worry about it too much, we had a dog with irregular heart beat that lived until almost 17, had it most of his life and while he did need meds the last year or so he was fine otherwise. The meds are cheap enough too from what I remember, I hope all goes well.

kylith

Thanks for the advice. I'm not too worried about her because even at the age of 12/13 she's very active, demands her walk every evening, and is generally hyper, even after an hour's walk. I'm confident we caught it early, since she was at the vet a few months ago and they didn't pick up anything then.