What Is Aortic Stenosis In Dogs?

448 February 06, 2018 0 Comment

BPC-Aortic-Stenosis

Every dog lovers are aware of many dog’s problems and diseases. For instance, flea and tick infestation, heartworm disease, depression, anxiety, and stress. But, many of you are not aware of the Aortic Stenosis. After reading this, you might say, what is aortic stenosis? I don’t know about this. Below information will help you to know about the aortic stenosis.

Aortic Stenosis In Dogs : Symptoms, Causes, & Treatments

What Is Aortic Stenosis?

Aortic Stenosis takes place by contracting of the aortic valve, which helps to maintain the flow of blood from left ventricle to the aorta ventricular outflow tract. Narrowing of the valve puts undue pressure on dog’s heart. The pressure increases the size of the heart muscle cells and thickens the heart wall.

Symptoms Of Aortic Stenosis

Signs and symptoms of the aortic stenosis vary depending on the severity of the obstruction. Some dog shows no symptoms while some dogs show serious heart problems or even die suddenly. The condition can be known only when a vet performs a physical examination of your dog. Below are some common signs of aortic stenosis:

Sudden heart failure
Breathing problem
Sudden loss of consciousness
Abnormal lung sounds

What Causes Aortic Stenosis In Dogs?

Aortic stenosis in most of the cases is congenital. It means dogs are born with this problem. Few dog breeds are more likely to get this condition by birth. These breeds include Boxer, Rottweiler, English bulldogs, German shepherd, Golden retriever, Great Danes, Newfoundland, and Samoyeds.

In some dogs, the condition is not congenital and is caused by the bacterial infection which is known as endocarditis.

How To Detect Aortic Stenosis In Dogs?

As soon as you witness any close symptom of this condition, visit your vet as early as possible. You need to brief your vet about the overall health of your dog and any symptom that you have seen in your dog. After considering it, your vet will perform a physical examination. It may detect a heart murmur that is an abnormal sound of heart which indicates the irregular function of a heart valve. Murmur sometimes occurs due to pain or excitement, especially in young animals. A vet will check it with the other symptoms of aortic stenosis.

A vet will also conduct some laboratory check-ups like blood counts test, urine test, and chest X-ray to get the exact result. He or she will also do some test like echocardiography to know the heart problem in detail.

What Is The Treatment Of Aortic Stenosis?

The treatment purely depends on the severity of the condition. Open heart surgery is one of the options to curb the condition but generally, it is not preferable as it is quite risky. Some experts have also used balloons to broaden the aorta while performing the cardiac catheterization. But the results were not up to the mark. It did not show any survival benefit for dogs with severe form of the disease.

Commonly, broad spectrum antibiotics are given to the dogs suffering from aortic stenosis to restrict the development of the bacterial infections in a heart.

Conclusion: Even if you see the slightest symptom of aortic stenosis in your dog, consult your vet soon. Taking early steps will help your dog to overcome this condition.