Your dog is still excited for dinner, enjoying their walks and greeting you at the door. Your cat is eating normally, sleeping in their favourite spot and behaving just like they always do.

So surely their heart is healthy?

Not necessarily.

At Clyde Veterinary Hospital, we want pet owners to know that heart disease in dogs and cats can develop quietly. In many pets, there may be few or no obvious symptoms until the disease has become more advanced.

This is especially true for cats, who are experts at hiding illness.

The good news is that early detection can help us understand what is happening with your pet’s heart and, when necessary, begin treatment or monitoring earlier — helping us protect their quality of life and hopefully keep them by your side for longer.

What Are the Signs of Heart Disease?

Heart disease doesn’t always look like a “sick” pet.

Dogs with heart disease may eventually develop signs such as:

• Coughing, especially at night or after resting
• Getting tired more quickly on walks
• Reduced interest in exercise or play
• Faster or more difficult breathing
• Weakness or collapse
• A swollen abdomen
• Changes in energy or behaviour

Cats can be very different.

Cats with heart disease don’t necessarily cough like dogs may. Instead, the signs can be subtle. They may become quieter, hide more, sleep more or develop changes in their breathing.

Some cats can have significant heart disease while appearing relatively normal at home.

That’s why we don’t want to rely on symptoms alone.

How Do We Check Your Pet’s Heart?

It Starts With a Veterinary Consultation

One of the most important heart checks is also one of the simplest: listening to your pet’s heart.

During a consultation at Clyde Veterinary Hospital, our vets will listen carefully to your pet’s heart and lungs.

We may detect a heart murmur, abnormal rhythm, unusual heart rate or changes in the lungs that indicate further investigation would be worthwhile.

If we find something concerning, we’ll talk you through the next steps. Depending on your pet, these may include:

Chest X-rays

Chest X-rays allow us to assess your pet’s heart, lungs and chest.

They can help us look for changes in the size or shape of the heart and determine whether there are changes within the lungs that may be associated with heart disease.

Echocardiogram

An echocardiogram is an ultrasound of the heart.

It allows us to watch the heart beating in real time and assess its chambers, valves, walls and blood flow.

An echocardiogram can provide valuable information about the type of heart disease present and how significant it may be.

Blood Pressure

Blood pressure isn’t just important in people.

Dogs and cats can also develop abnormal blood pressure, and measuring it can provide useful information about your pet’s cardiovascular and overall health.

Blood pressure checks can be particularly valuable for cats, senior pets and animals with certain underlying medical conditions.

In-House proBNP Heart Testing

At Clyde Veterinary Hospital, we can perform proBNP heart testing in-house.

This blood test can be particularly useful in cats, because cats can hide heart disease remarkably well and their symptoms may be quite different from those seen in dogs.

proBNP is a biomarker that can increase when there is stretching or stress on the heart muscle. Alongside your pet’s examination and other findings, it can help us assess whether underlying heart disease may be present and whether further investigation, such as an echocardiogram, should be considered.

It isn’t a replacement for every other heart test, but it can be a very useful part of putting the pieces together — especially when a cat appears completely normal on the outside.

Why is Early Diagnosis So Important?

We would much rather identify heart disease before your pet becomes seriously unwell.

Finding a heart condition early doesn’t necessarily mean your pet needs medication immediately. Some pets may simply need monitoring, while others may benefit from treatment.

The important thing is that we know the condition is there.

Early diagnosis gives us the opportunity to understand the disease, monitor changes and introduce treatment when appropriate.

Our goal at Clyde Veterinary Hospital is simple: to help your pet stay comfortable, maintain a good quality of life and enjoy as much healthy time with your family as possible.

Can a Pet With Heart Disease Still Have a General Anaesthetic?

This is a question that understandably worries many pet owners.

Having heart disease does not automatically mean your pet can’t undergo a general anaesthetic or receive treatment for another condition.

Instead, knowing that heart disease is present helps us plan more carefully.

Depending on your pet’s condition and the procedure required, we may recommend additional assessment beforehand and tailor their anaesthetic medications, fluids and monitoring to their individual needs.

At Clyde Veterinary Hospital, we take anaesthetic safety seriously with every patient, whether or not they have heart disease. A known heart condition simply means there may be additional considerations and precautions to take.

We assess each pet individually and discuss the benefits and risks with you before proceeding.

A heart condition shouldn’t automatically mean ignoring other health problems that may be affecting your pet’s comfort and quality of life.

Heart Disease Doesn’t Mean We Should Ignore Their Teeth

This is particularly important when it comes to dental health.

If your dog or cat has heart disease, keeping their teeth and gums healthy remains an important part of looking after their overall health.

Dental disease isn’t simply bad breath or dirty teeth. Plaque and tartar can lead to inflammation and infection of the gums and tissues surrounding the teeth. Bacteria associated with dental disease can enter the bloodstream and travel to other parts of the body.

For a pet already living with heart disease, we want to reduce avoidable sources of infection and inflammation wherever possible.

That’s why good dental health remains important for dogs and cats with heart conditions.

Sometimes owners are understandably reluctant to book a dental procedure because they’ve been told their pet has heart disease.

“Isn’t the anaesthetic too risky?”

Not necessarily.

Heart disease does not automatically mean your pet cannot have a dental procedure or general anaesthetic.

Knowing about the heart condition actually gives us important information that allows us to assess the risks, investigate further when necessary and develop an anaesthetic plan appropriate for that individual patient.

We may recommend additional testing before the procedure and adjust medications, fluids and monitoring according to your pet’s needs.

Leaving significant dental disease untreated isn’t necessarily the safer option either. Dental pain, infection and chronic inflammation can negatively affect your pet’s health, comfort and quality of life.

At Clyde Veterinary Hospital, we look at the whole patient — their heart, their teeth and their overall health — and work with you to decide on the most appropriate treatment plan.

So if your pet has been diagnosed with heart disease, don’t assume their teeth can no longer be treated. Talk to us about the safest way to manage their dental health alongside their heart condition.

“But My Pet Looks Completely Fine!”

And we hope they stay that way.

That’s exactly why regular veterinary health checks are so valuable.

Heart disease can be present before you notice anything wrong at home. By the time obvious symptoms develop, the condition may already be more advanced.

Something as simple as listening to your pet’s heart during their regular veterinary examination may be the first clue that we should investigate further.

So if your dog or cat seems perfectly normal, don’t assume there’s nothing happening beneath the surface.

And if you’ve noticed changes in your pet’s breathing, energy levels, exercise tolerance or behaviour — or you’re simply concerned about their heart — we’re here to help.

Book a consultation with the team at Clyde Veterinary Hospital to discuss your pet’s heart health.

Because when it comes to heart disease, finding it earlier can give us more opportunities to protect their health, manage other conditions safely and hopefully give you more healthy time together.

Book an Appointment Today