URGENT: Cat Just diagnosed with severe cardiomyopathy

My 15 yr old cat has just been diagnosed with severe hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. the vet says she could die at any time. but her blood work is normal. her blood pressure is normal (140-150) and her only clinical sihns are signs are some weight loss she's really thin and not eating much, agitated, not herself not jumping up on counter. she also has a mass in her stomach that vet says could be a hair ball. he did two xrays.
he gave me benazapril, vit b and laxaire.
of course, i am devasted.
i wanted to check in here for help. i think people here have had cats with hypertorphic cardiomyopathy. does i need to do more right now for her? i don't know anything about this disease.
i am in a small town. i want to rush her to a specialist but it is the weekend.
i don't know what to do.
please help.
where is the online hypertrophic cardiomyopathy group online?
thanks so much.
i gave her the benazapril but not the vit e . i put the laxaire in her paw but i don't think she is going to lick it off. should i put it in a syringe and give it to her?

 

((( Sara ))) I see a yahoo group for heart cats, maybe that would help.
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/feline-heart/

 

Hi Sara,

Did your vet do a heart echo or ultrasound? I know you are in a state of shock and panic and understand completely, have just been there. What heart meds were you prescribed?
Try to take a deep breath and be calm people here will have info very soon no doubt, thinking of you.

Allycat

 

Sara,
Just saw the meds in your original post sorry.... Yes I would use the syringe its most important right now to get the meds into her asap to help her heart and get her comfortable. Our Tesla had dialated cardiomyopathy and giving him them was the most crucial to trying to get him out of critical.
We also found that spoon feeding him worked well, we blended his food with a little water and he drank it off the spoon and would then drink it from the bowl after getting a taste for it. Her energy level will be low due to the effort it takes to get around with the heart problem.... dont give up hope...i am sure someone else will be along soon who has dealt with your specific heart problem themselves....

 

((( Sara )))

I don't have any experience with this, but I know there are knowledgeable people here that can help you. In the mean time, many scritches to Buttercup...

 

Dear Sara,
I haven't had a cat with this but I work with kids who have this and I just did research on this subject for cats for our project.

Here is a link with some information:
http://maxshouse.com/hypertrophic_cardiomyopathy.htm

With this disease - the heart muscle is very thick and can't pump very well - so the goal of all the meds is to help reduce any work the heart has to do. Thus removing any extra fluid and helping it pump stronger.

You're on benazepril - an ace inhibitor - a good start to help your buttercup. This helps the heart beat more efficiently.

Some other meds that help are diuretics - Lasix to help remove any excess fluid that Buttercup may be holding onto.

Another med that can be considered is Diltiazem - another one that helps the heart beat stronger.

She has presented with some typical signs actually of heart disease - weight loss, poor feeding, and just not herself. Pretty benign type symptoms but quite typical.

Restless, agitation can mean ALOT of different things. Is she breathing easily? rapidly? Are her respirations quiet or do they sound noisy? gurgly? I guess this would be the warning sign for me as these are signs of fluid overload and/or that she is not getting enough of oxygen. Or that she is uncomfortable.

How did they diagnose this? On chest xray - they would have seen an enlarged heart.

Like the others said - it's important to get her meds in her. Also I would know where your nearest emergency vet is just so YOU feel comfortable especially with this being the long holiday weekend.

I hope I've helped a little. I'm so sorry you are going thru all this.
I'll check back later and see if I can answer anymore questions.

 

this isn't the cat you were thinking of starting on steroids, right?

 

Merlyn had HCM. His was severe when diagnosed. His left atrium was enlarged. Technically speaking he was in CHF (congestive heart failure) on diagnosis because he had fluid in his lungs (pulmonary edema) He did live 2.5 years post diagnosis. He was also a renal kitty and we had to balance his subQs so he wouldnt dehydrate or get too much fluids. Merlyn was on lasix, diltiazem, later we added benazepril, and later still, aspirin to prevent blood clots. Jess felt that Plavix would have been better but our IM specialist suggested the aspirin. The diltiazem ended up being a good med for him due to his hearts specific needs but Jess said more cardio specialists are using Atenolol. You may want to PM Jess and Earl.. she works for a veterinary cardiology specialist.

http://www.2ndchance.info/heart.htm
http://www.newmanveterinary.com/felhcm.html
http://maxhouse.com/Cardiology/myocardi ... he_cat.htm
(diff maxhouse link-more general about heart disease)

Sending lots of cyber hugs (((((((((((((((((SARA))))))))))))))))))))))))

 

thanks for all the advice. i am going to come back later to day with a bigger post. she is just on benazapril, vit e and laxaire. she only had a chest xray to diagnose and he said the heart looked really small. she also has a lump in her stomach that he said might be a hardened hairball. she's not eating much at all just a few treats. i still need to weigh her today. i think she needs a more thorough workup but i don't know if i can get it here or afford it. i will find out about getting an echo and ultrasound next week. does that sound right?
her blood work was totally normal full panel
her blood pressure is normal
but she looks scarey bad to me. she looks like she doesn't have long to live.
if she started to have anymore serious type of problems this weekend and i took her to the vet these jerks would prob just suggest putting her down. they don't even want to try to save animals that are sick beyond something really minor. and quite possibly they don't what what to do anyway.
any advice here is appreciated.
can you diagnose hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with just a chest xray?

 

You can tell something is wrong in an xray and see if there is fluid build up in the lungs or around the heart (pulmonary edema or plural effusion) but I do not believe they can say which type of cardiomyopathy it is or what meds would be best. Usually the heart is enlarged-specifically the left atrium.. but I suppose it could be smll but with thickened heart walls. The cardiac ultrasound can find out how thick the walls are and where.
another link..http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/hyp-cardio.html

an echo IS a cardiac ultrasound. Sometimes they suggest an electrocardiogram but I would stick with the u/s first.

 

i just tried to give her her benazapril and failed. the vet says if i stress her too much trying to give her the benezapril that she could die.
she keeps going to the water dish over and over again like every 10 mintues and drinking a little bit or just sitting there.
her heart sounded kind of weird, not stready, when i picked her up but i am not sure about that.
thanks for letting me know that an ultrasound is an echo. i didn' t know that
i am debating about taking her to emergency today. i don't like the vet who is on call today but tomorrow the vet on is way worse. i shoud try to find out who is on monday.
something is really wrong with her and it is scaring me really bad.
i think the vets pick on me partly because i am alone. i have no one there as a wtiness and no one to support me when i go in.
i don't know if i have the strength physically or emotionally or financailly to go today. i might take a short nap and try later.
she is eating a little bit. she is my hardest cat to pill even though she is really little.
i went to the vet 4 separtate times yesterday with two different cats. i am so burn out it is unbelievable.

 

I am not a vet, but I really have no idea why your vet is freaking you out by saying she could die so fast. I mean, Merlyn was fractious at the vets but he got his xrays and uas and blood draws. He just couldnt have anesthesia.

Did he say anything about a murmur or gallop rythm or arrythmia? See any fluid build up on xray? Mention any structural defects besides it being small? I just am not clear if he "gets it". Its very scary, heart issues, but I am not sure your vet could determin that without an ultrasound. Those are some things that could indicate its worse than it sounds.

(((((((((((((((((((((((SARA)))))))))))))))))))))))))

 

Hi Sara,

I know how exhausted you must be and your emotions are running high from lack of rest and stress. The increased thirst is probably from the meds, Tesla was the same the first two days, staying near the water bowl, its apparently normal with the drugs you have been prescribed, to relieve the fluid build up if there is any. Is she having any labored breathing or panting/open mouth breathing? we had fluid build up removed from Tesla's lungs to make him comfortable, not sure if you can do that with your type of heart disease, Tesla was dialated but very similar symptoms.
I know its really distressing forcing these meds on her, we had an awful time emotionally with Tesla, worrying that the stress from giving meds would do more harm than not giving them, but try to think of it as a few minutes of discomfort for her will ultimately give her a fighting chance by getting those important meds into her.
I know its an absolute roller coaster but until she gets them in her system it will be hard to see any improvement and she will feel better once she gets them.

Good luck and keep us posted on how you are coping, thinking of you.

 

I spent a year with one of my kitties with HCM - you really should get an echo/ultra sound for more accurate diagnosis - I had to wait a week for a specialist to come around to our area and it wasn't cheap but it gave us the full picture - my cat was on Lasix and Diltiazem, COQ10 and baby aspirin. He was ok for about a year - than just went down hill rapidly - the lasix was upped but than his kidney's were at risk - it was not good - however many cats are regulated and live for a while after diagnosis - my cat was only 2 when diagnosed and ended up getting a large hole in his heart and we had to help him over the rainbow bridge.
I hope you have much better luck and keep us posted.