Terri [wordtrix@hotmail.com] has sent you an article from .
Story: Heart illness can go unnoticed
Cleaning pets teeth
Heart illness can go unnoticed
12:00 AM CDT on Monday, July 31, 2006Shawn Messonnier
Dear Dr. Shawn: My cat of 13 years recently passed away after a dental cleaning. She was fine until the third day following the procedure and then she collapsed.
She was rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with high blood pressure and tachycardia with pulmonary edema. She passed away the next day and I was told she most likely had a prior heart condition that she probably lived with for a few years without any clinical signs. Why did the dental procedure make her heart condition worse?
Answer: I'm sorry to hear of your loss. Many pets do have undiagnosed heart disease, and sometimes it isn't apparent until a stress, such as boarding or an anesthetic procedure, takes place.
This is a major reason why I recommend annual checkups for pets under 5 years, and examinations for pets 5 years and older twice a year.
When heart disease is discovered during the exam, it is imperative that further testing takes place before the pet becomes ill. All pets with heart murmurs need further evaluation, which includes an EKG, chest X-rays and a heart ultrasound.
Waiting until the pet has severe heart failure makes no sense, as the heart (and the pet) is dying at this stage. In your cat's case, she probably had heart failure but was compensating for this. The stress of anesthesia was enough to bring on the edema (fluid in the lungs) and subsequent death.
I should point out though that pets with heart disease and controlled mild heart failure can and should still have their teeth cleaned, and usually suffer no harm from the procedure.
Send questions to Dr. Shawn Messonnier at Paws & Claws Animal Hospital, 2145 W. Park, Plano, TX 75075 or naturalvet@ juno.com. Visit him at www.pet carenaturally.com, and listen to his on Sirius channel 112, Tuesday at 7 p.m.