# Enlarged Heart



## kduane3516 (Jan 9, 2005)

a friend of mine has a new 9 week old maltese austin. she rushed him to the vet a couple of weeks ago with lathargy, paleness, etc. the vet told her that he has an enlarged heart and fluid on his lungs. the vet wanted her to put him down but instead she insisted on starting him on medications to clear his lungs. in the meantime he has been on the meds and doing fine. anyone else have a maltese with this probme - i'm going with my friend on Feb 2nd to a heart specialist. any comments welcome


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## Puddles Mom (Jun 20, 2004)

How sad, I am praying for him. Hope all goes well and he will be okay on meds. 

I live in a rural area in North Carolina. I don't think my vet really gives Puddles a good exam when visiting for check ups. Every time I have been there, Puddles is the most expensive dog I have seen (not saying there are not any, just have not seen them). I know they always go crazy over him (carrying him around and making a big deal over of him). Suppose thats why they are so cheap! 

How would one know if their baby had a serious problem, just watching them?


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## saltymalty (Sep 14, 2004)

> _Originally posted by kduane3516_@Jan 24 2005, 07:07 PM
> *a friend of mine has a new 9 week old maltese austin.  she rushed him to the vet a couple of weeks ago with lathargy, paleness, etc.  the vet told her that he has an enlarged heart and fluid on his lungs.  the vet wanted her to put him down but instead she insisted on starting him on medications to clear his lungs.  in the meantime he has been on the meds and doing fine.  anyone else have a maltese with this probme - i'm going with my friend on Feb 2nd to a heart specialist.  any comments welcome
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Poor thing...I hope all works out well. Where is the puppy located? How old is the puppy now? My vet specializes in small animals...but we're lucky in that we have some really great facilities here. Please keep us posted on his prognosis.


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## k/c mom (Oct 9, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Puddles Mom_@Jan 24 2005, 07:15 PM
> *How would one know if their baby had a serious problem, just watching them?*


My first Maltese, Rosebud, had an enlarged heart (as you can tell from my posts, she had a lot of medical problems). But she didn't get it until she was about 9 years old. I believe coughing was the first sign. She lived 3 years after diagnosis and was on a ton of medicine and her quality of life was terrible for about a year. I finally had her euthanized when she wasn't getting enough oxygen to do much of anything.

The best thing is to have a complete physical done on your dog at a good clinic twice a year. Get a physical exam plus urinalysis, blood work, etc. Six months between exams may seem like a short period of time but just think that this is a couple years at least in dog years. Or you may want to do it every year while he is young and then after a couple years go to every six months. That's just my personal opinion!


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

Something like that in a puppy is typically due to a congenital defect, but could also be secondary to an infectious disease. Maltese are prone to PDA which is a heart defect that sometimes can be repaired surgically. If the puppy continues to have problems it should see the cardiologist as an emergency. This is very serious.


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## Caesar's Mommie (Apr 8, 2004)

Awww, poor baby.







I hope everything works out.


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## kodie (Aug 24, 2004)

omg... Kodie and I are praying for this little baby!


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## Brinkley & Neyland's Mom (Jun 14, 2004)

Poor baby







! And poor mommy!! Please keep us posted!


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## MalteseJane (Nov 21, 2004)

Yes poor baby and poor mommy







I wonder if it would not have been better to follow the vet's advise. My daughter's shi tzu has been recently diagnosed with an enlarged heart. But she is 12 years old.


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## kduane3516 (Jan 9, 2005)

> _Originally posted by JMM_@Jan 24 2005, 06:36 PM
> *Something like that in a puppy is typically due to a congenital defect, but could also be secondary to an infectious disease. Maltese are prone to PDA which is a heart defect that sometimes can be repaired surgically. If the puppy continues to have problems it should see the cardiologist as an emergency. This is very serious.
> <div align="right">index.php?act=findpost&pid=31210*


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PDA is exactly what this puppy has. the vet wanted to do surgery but they couldn't guarantee that he would live thru the surgery so my friend said NO WAY. 

So it seems from what your saying that the other puppies could have the same defect. I bought one of her puppies for $800 - should I have mine checked out for this defect?


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## Caesar's Mommie (Apr 8, 2004)

Awww, yes I definantely would get your baby checked out. Does she sell her puppies with a health guarintee or anything? Caesar had one that if somethign showed up within I think 6 months then they would replace him or something? Not sure, thankfully never had to worry about it.


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## k/c mom (Oct 9, 2004)

> _Originally posted by kduane3516+Jan 25 2005, 02:20 PM-->
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PDA is exactly what this puppy has. the vet wanted to do surgery but they couldn't guarantee that he would live thru the surgery so my friend said NO WAY. 

So it seems from what your saying that the other puppies could have the same defect. I bought one of her puppies for $800 - should I have mine checked out for this defect?
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I think you should have yours checked out. Did you get a check up upon purchasing? Also, it sounds like the pups were released by their breeder at an awfully young age. The age is usually 12 weeks, and if this had occurred the breeder would have known about the defect before your friend got him. 

Your friend should have the surgery done if there is no other way to save this dog. I would imagine that he cannot live very long with this condition without medicial intervention. This is indeed a very sad situation.


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

Yes your puppy should absolutely be checked by a vet. PDA is most likely hereditary in Maltese due to its incidence. 

If the PDA is bad enough that the puppy has secondary heart enlargement and effusion in his chest or around his heart, your friend should talk with the vet about long-term survival chances without surgery as they may be quite poor. Surgery is definately a big risk, but she should discuss medical management versus surgery as far as survival goes. Each case is different, but I've never heard of a dog with a large PDA doing well without surgery.


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