Vetmedin - New Treatment for Dogs with Congestive Heart Failure

You now have the option to save your dog from heart failure. The FDA has recently approved a drug with an indication to do just that.

Vetmedin has been indicated for the management of mild, moderate and even severe heart failure symptoms in dogs and may even assist in the treatment of congestive heart failure. This has been the first drug in ten years that has been created for this purpose.

In older and smaller breeds, congestive heart failure is one of the most common problems seen in dogs. It is a serious inability that does not allow the heart to function properly, water is retained and there is an excess of salt in the blood and the lungs become filled with fluid.

The signs of congestive heart failure in dogs are: fatigue, swelling of the abdomen, coughing, weak pulse as well as increased heart rate.

Congestive heart failure in dogs is measured in classes from two to four:

Class two is mild and the symptoms consist of fatigue and coughing when exercise is induced. Class three is moderate and entails a general comfort level when the dog is at rest but when the dog becomes exerted they become uncomfortable and have an increased heart rate. Class four is severe and life threatening and the dog seem to be at a constant stage of low comfort. All symptoms are visible while the dog is at rest.

Vetmedin treats these symptoms by increasing the force of the contraction of the heart muscle, and dilating the blood vessels which decrease the resistance of the blood to flow. In simpler terms, Vetmedin opens the blood vessels taking blood away from the heart thereby reducing the amount of work that the heart must do.

All adverse reactions to the medication seemed to be effects of congestive heart failure and included: lethargy, weakness, severe congestive heart failure, diarrhea, elevated liver serum enzymes, and heart failure death.

A fifty-six day trial was conducted with three-hundred thirty five dogs. Dogs were all assessed to be in congestive heart failure and half of the group was given Vetmedin and half were given control drugs. On the twenty ninth day of the study the dogs were analyzed and with Vetmedin treatment 80.7% were successfully treated as opposed to the 71% that had received the placebo.

Only time will tell the results - Vetmedin may be prescribed as a lifetime prescription, so long as it is effective for the treatment in your dog. You should see an improvement within a week, if not than a return to the vet is a good idea. It will be administered twice daily, an hour before ingesting food, ideally twelve hours apart, in the morning and in the night. If you are to miss a dose than continue on with the next and spend time with your family friend!