Long live Zeus!
I loooove my Zeus. Yesterday I took him to the vet, because I wanted to give the vet CD-ROMs a previous vet had provided. One had an ultrasound of Z's heart, and the other had x-rays. I figured, since we were there, I would ask the vet if he wanted to take blood to see if the amounts of digoxin and enalapril that Z is taking for his dilated cardiomyopathy are appropriate. The vet couldn't read one of the CD-ROMs, because it didn't come with the appropriate software to enable you to see the images, which were in some nonstandard format. He could view the x-rays, but said the resolution wasn't that good. I saw them too, and said, "What the hell are we looking at?" He said, "Well, you can see that the left ventricle is very dilated, but we already knew he had cardiomyopathy, so that isn't telling us anything we don't already know." He said the x-ray and the ultrasound weren't done using the most advanced available equipment (he saw the name of the ultrasound program, but couldn't get any of the images to display). So he took blood and listened to Z's heart. He said once again that Z' heart sounded really good, without the level of arrthymia (can't spell this) that he might expect to hear in a dog with cardiomyopathy, so perhaps Z's case is progressing slowly.
Pimobendan--a new drug, has just been approved for use in dogs with cardiomyopathy. It can extend their lives by a year or more, and dramatically increase quality of life. It's already in use outside the U.S., and it will be available in the U.S. starting June 1st. Dr. said that in the beginning of June, he would like to ask a specialist (cardiologist) whether Z should go on pimobendan right away, or whether we should wait until he's not doing as well as he is now. There are some risks with using Pimobendan-- sudden death is one-- but they are very rare, and the quality of life may be worth the risks. With a dog, especially, QOL is important, in my opinion, since dogs don't understand the notion of making tradeoffs as much.
http://www.wedgewoodpharmacy.com/monographs/pimobendan.asp
http://www.vetmedpub.com/vetmed/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=378905
http://www.boehringer-ingelheim.ca/news_releases/2007/2007-01-11.asp
A good description of types of cardiomyopathy, including distinction between it and "heart failure." (Basically, it is a subset of heart failure, or a more specific term.)
http://heartdisease.about.com/cs/heartfailure/a/CHF1.htm
When Zeus first went to his foster home with MAGDRL.org (December 2006), he was listless, with no energy. Part of that may have been because he was confused and sad at being removed from the home where he had been since he was a puppy, but no doubt then-undiagnosed cardiomyopathy was affecting him as well. With time, and with digoxin and enalapril, he did start to perk up fairly soon. The foster mother said she noticed a difference soon after he started the medications.
Zeus is fearful of the vet's office, but this time was better than last. When I first got him and took him to the vet, he tried to bolt out the office door every chance he got. This time, he tried, but with less force. When we were waiting in the exam room for the vet to come, he lay on the large canine scale and put his nose to the wall, his way of hiding, I guess. I tried to soothe him by rubbing his ears. Meanwhile, I was able to see that he has gained a little weight since January--he now weighs 144.
Long live Zeus! Well, as long as he has QOL and apparent desire for life.
Pimobendan--a new drug, has just been approved for use in dogs with cardiomyopathy. It can extend their lives by a year or more, and dramatically increase quality of life. It's already in use outside the U.S., and it will be available in the U.S. starting June 1st. Dr. said that in the beginning of June, he would like to ask a specialist (cardiologist) whether Z should go on pimobendan right away, or whether we should wait until he's not doing as well as he is now. There are some risks with using Pimobendan-- sudden death is one-- but they are very rare, and the quality of life may be worth the risks. With a dog, especially, QOL is important, in my opinion, since dogs don't understand the notion of making tradeoffs as much.
http://www.wedgewoodpharmacy.com/monographs/pimobendan.asp
http://www.vetmedpub.com/vetmed/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=378905
http://www.boehringer-ingelheim.ca/news_releases/2007/2007-01-11.asp
A good description of types of cardiomyopathy, including distinction between it and "heart failure." (Basically, it is a subset of heart failure, or a more specific term.)
http://heartdisease.about.com/cs/heartfailure/a/CHF1.htm
When Zeus first went to his foster home with MAGDRL.org (December 2006), he was listless, with no energy. Part of that may have been because he was confused and sad at being removed from the home where he had been since he was a puppy, but no doubt then-undiagnosed cardiomyopathy was affecting him as well. With time, and with digoxin and enalapril, he did start to perk up fairly soon. The foster mother said she noticed a difference soon after he started the medications.
Zeus is fearful of the vet's office, but this time was better than last. When I first got him and took him to the vet, he tried to bolt out the office door every chance he got. This time, he tried, but with less force. When we were waiting in the exam room for the vet to come, he lay on the large canine scale and put his nose to the wall, his way of hiding, I guess. I tried to soothe him by rubbing his ears. Meanwhile, I was able to see that he has gained a little weight since January--he now weighs 144.
Long live Zeus! Well, as long as he has QOL and apparent desire for life.