Mitral Valve Disease

[Jennifer and Jack]

I am hardly on this page so I forgot about this group.  I wanted to add information on here because many of us have dog that have a lot of miniature poodle in them.  Unfortunately, for my boy, he was recently diagnosed with  Grade 5/6  Stage 2B MVD.    He has very large ventricles and left atrium.    They can't tell on ECHO how many Chord strands are stained   .

My purpose in writing this, is a few. One from what I have read in Mini Poodles this type of heart disease is the number one cause of death.... ( Please make sure you have insurance which of course is discussed at length in here). Also, very few cardiologist are aware of the fact there is a surgery that can repair the chords ( the damaged valve in the heart)

Most times you are just given medications to reduce symptoms. I found an amazing group called the Mighty Hearts and I have been learning a lot.. There is a surgeon in Japan who has successfully  greater than 90 percent success repairing valves in dogs..... He currently does surgery in Japan which is the cheapest but insurance will not pay for it, at least not Pet Plan... ( they only cover US and Canada.) The surgeon also brings him team to Paris and he has trained a surgeon in London. ( they surgeon in London does not have as high of success rates).  The Japanese surgeon has been to Cornell in NY and had done several surgeries there.. He is currently trying to get VISA's for surgery in FLA.

We are on the list for Japan, which would clear us by October 20th, that said, we are praying SUPER hard the surgeon will have his VISA's soon for Fla and his team will be there.. Jack's insurance will cover it there..    

Anyway, I just want people to know as these doodle grow older that there is some hope if your precious baby goes into heart failure secondary to MVD.   I didn't find a lot of hope out there about this until I found the MightyHearts.org.    

I hope someday someone who is searching finds this and find some hope because watching your baby suffer is just absolute hell.

[Amy and Annabelle]

I'm so sorry to hear this about your poor boy. That is scary, I have a mini f1b also. Good to know there is a surgery available.
Is this hereditary? Also what were the symptoms that first alerted you? Thank you for the info. Good luck with his surgery.

[Jennifer and Jack]

Hi, I am still learning a lot...  It can be hereditary .... That is what I was told. I don't want to say that is how Jack got it.. His dad was health screened and is literally the father to hundreds of dogs.  ( don't ask).   I am unaware of any of his precious dogs having heart disease many of them are still young.

 Mitral Valve disease remains asymptomatic for a long time.. It starts with a heart murmur... Some dogs only ever have a heart murmur and DON"T progress any further than that.... Jack started with a murmur and it was benign up until  a few months ago...  He didn't have any symptoms.   

I had him followed with a cardiologist since finding the murmur but we didn't treat it because his heart didn't show any signs of enlargement.   He had an ECHO two months before that was normal.. Just a heart murmur.   Two months later I took Jack to the vet for a cervical strain and on x ray they saw a very large heart.   At that time He didn't have any signs that I was aware of.. IN hind site I have learned heat intolerance is a sign.. Jack has had that for years.    

So he advanced from a Grade 1/6 to a 5/6 murmur in two months.  Now I can't tell what is what because all I do is read into everything.     We had to cut his activity way back... I was letting him do whatever he wanted but the harder the blood pumps through the heart the more likely the chords will rupture leading to a faster pace o heart failure...

I think you are totally fine as long as you take them in for their annual exam, a heart murmur can be heart just with a simple scope..  You can feel Jack;s now just by placing your hand over his chest. :(. 

I wouldn't worry unless they find a murmur, and even then I wouldn't worry.. Many don't progress.. IF they do find one I would recommend and ECHO of the heart because I have met a lot of people who have dogs that were diagnosed with Grade 2 or 3 that had severe enlargement of the heart..

So don't worry but just be aware.. For sure they will have this surgery in the US in the next several years.   They are working on a way in CO to do them like they do heart Cath's but they have been largely unsuccessful because they are replacing the valve which leads to rejection issues as opposed to repairing it. 

[Trudy Harlow]

We have a large-mini F1 goldendoodle who was born with a heart murmur. Because of his size (50 lbs) he was referred to a cardiologist when he turned 8. He’s had echocardiograms once or twice a year since then. He’s now 10 and his heart disease has progressed very little. I have him on a raw diet and he receives supplements of d-Ribose, CoQ10, and he eats fish regularly. I believe all this has helped to stabilize him. He’s now a frisky 10.5 year old. Please continue to keep us posted about this vet and his surgery. I had no idea this was a problem in mini poodles. Thank you. Hope your pup improves.

[Jennifer and Jack]

I am so glad to hear you guy is doing so well.. Jack is on a really good food that works for him... I had no idea it was more common in mini and toy poodles either, not that that would have changed a thing for me.... Actually King Charles Cavaliers have a 97 percent chance of developing this... So crazy..

IN the group I belong to there are several doodles in it.. One being a mini/medium doodle who just got home from the UK and had a great surgery there... He lives in Boston.. 

Jack is in line to have the surgery in October unless he totally stabllizes on medication.. I won't do the surgery until I see him worsening..... but the soonest he can have it is October.... There is a very good chance he will be getting it done in FLa,..  which is incredible because I am too sick to travel...

Jacks heart while it has a murmur for his life, didn't progress until he was almost nine I think.... being that it progressed and is a 5/6   we are assuming he is going to keep progressing .. at least we have a plan in place... Doing the paper work and quarantine ( at home) process for Japan is a ton of work... but so worth it..

The dogs seem to recover in just a few days... they are usually in the hospital about a week... Their hearts are actually shrinking back down just a day or so after surgery which makes me so happy....  

Right now he is stable on the Pimobendin but we never know when the chords are going to break which I can't stand ...  

[Jennifer and Jack]

Jacks update.   Not too much more to report thankfully.  He is tentatively Scheduled for surgery at the end of October or early November. It is astounding to me to see how well and how fast these dogs recover from the surgery. Since mitral valve disease is not really a medically managed disease as much as it needs surgical repair, once the surgery is done these dogs no longer have heart disease. Their valves are repaired by using a purse like suture making the leaflets less floppy.   . That in turn makes the regurgitation stop. The surgery has a 97% success rate in Japan. The team from Japan is going to be making surgical rounds here in the United States eventually. The fear of having it done in the United States is that the post operative care is going to be done by the teams in the United States as opposed to Japan where it’s the same nurses who have been doing this for years.

 I can definitely see Jack slowing down and it breaks my heart. His spirit is still a puppy like but his body can’t tolerate any exercise. I have to count his respirations on a regular basis and if there are over 40 I have to give him a water pill  to help remove the fluid off of his lungs. I still take him for walks but he mostly sits on my scooter with me. He is spoiled rotten every single day. For the surgery they usually stay in the hospital for about five days and then they have three months of restrictions from running. The most common post operative side affects have been blood clots that RESOLVE in a few weeks. One of the surgeons who did the surgery in New Jersey unfortunately Had  a dog pass away.   It’s absolutely terrifying to know that I’m going to hand my baby over but at the same time I believe in quality of life.

All our paperwork is done for Japan. We still hope to have the surgery in the United States. No matter what it takes to get him through. For now, we spend our days being lazy. Jackie really enjoys going for car rides but it’s very hot So I have to use cooling pads and cooling nights plus blow every event in their air-conditioners on him.

I have one more visit to Boston before his surgery and then after that everything will be on hold until he’s fully recovered.

[c zoomer]

Hi Jennifer,

Thought I might re-read your posts since Dinah has similar issues.  Wondering if you could help me understand the overheating and 40 respiration counts.  Dinah Does Overheat...and I thought it was her warm coat. Thank you for your help.

colleene and Dinah

[Jennifer and Jack]

Hi,

Jack overheating was the first thing I ever noticed about him. I live in SC and I keep my house pretty cool due to my own breathing problems so I assumed he was just used to colder air.  The heat makes it really hard for him to breathe.  Most cardiac dogs have heat intolerance.  A normal breathing rate of a dog at rest is under 30.  Of course, this needs to be at rest or when sleeping.  Last night, everyone gave Jack some of their steak for dinner and then he had a little ice cream. Eating too much caused him to have a hard time breathing and I ended up putting him on oxygen a little while to help him.  If he breathing rate goes too high, I have Lasix for him to help him get rid of the extra water. it is a balancing act as Lasix is really rough on the kidneys.  

   Watching their respiratory rate is one of the easiest ways to assess how they are doing.   For Jack, he always has access to cool water and a cold room.  I keep my bedroom cold and a fan on at all times. I usually find him the most comfortable the colder it is.  Has Dinah had an Ultrasound of her heart?   Fortunately, there are some medications that can hold off the progression of the disease.  It is so sad.. If I can do anything to help you, please let me know. There are really good support groups with a lot of expert knowledge on FB.  Many of the cardiac specialists and surgeons belong to them as well.  it is a great group. 

[Jennifer and Jack]

Just another update in hopes this will help someone someday.    I  am unable to travel to Japan with Jack. i am too ill .  However, the surgery is now offered in the UK as well as Japan.  The most exciting thing is the Univesity of Fla Small Animal Hosptial. Dr. Simon Swift has started a program where the surgeons from Japan, ( JASMINE Clinic) will be flying to Fla, ( the entire team) and training the team at U of F to do the surgery.  For now, you can have the surgery done by the team from Japan in Fla.  This is incredible news.  Unfortunately, it is pricy. Even though it is very reasonable when you consider all the costs, it is going to mostly be available to people who have money and or really good insurance. The cost in Japan is 17K and the cost in the US is around 46k.  I wonder how this is going to pan out in the insurance world.  In my groups I belong to, there are a lot of King Charles Cavaliers as I think their chance of MVD is in the 90 percentile. There are a lot of mini poodles, and doodle mixes as well.  Jack is stable as of right now.. Thank God.  He just went for his check-up yesterday but we are due to go back to Fla next month to see the team there.   To add to my stress there is a long term national shortage on Vetmedin.   I have to call all over the country to get this medication for him. We are all working to make sure our dogs have enough.  Some have gone to generic form but I won't do it.  I know for me, generic medications don't always work the same and I am too afraid to try it with Jack.    I will update more when I know,. If you have a dog with mitral valve disease, I highly recommend the Mighty Hearts Project.  WE are all in the group together with the surgeons from around the world and it is amazing to see.