Last week I wrote about using ultrasound to diagnose heart conditions in pets and ended by asking the question – “when would we recommend a heart scan for your pet?”.

There is not one simple answer to this question as there are several ways that we are alerted to your pet having a heart problem.

Very often we will pick up heart murmurs or variations in heart rhythm (known as arrythmias) at routine check ups (such as annual vaccination).

Not every heart murmur that we hear will warrant a heart scan, many will just need monitoring, however in certain breeds of dog with certain severity of the murmur we will recommend a scan. In cats the subject is even more complicated as it is very hard to tell from a murmur alone whether a cat has mild heart disease, no heart disease or severe heart disease. Cats love to be mysterious so we will often recommend heart scans to find out more.

Why bother with a scan? The reason for scanning hearts is to see if there are any changes to the size of the heart, thickness of the walls, any damage to valves and so forth – all this gives us valuable information about how advanced heart disease is. Most importantly this information will give us a really good idea as to whether we need to start heart medication.

The good news is that there are plenty of medicines out there that can improve the quality and length of life of a pet with heart disease. So, if your vet recommends a heart scan do not rule it out, it is non-invasive and can give results that will directly lead to an improved quality of life.

Alice Moore is a vet at Castle Veterinary Clinic, Dorchester and Weymouth. Tel 01305 267083