Heart Murmur In Cats Grade 2
1 If murmur grade varies as it often does in cats the term dynamic is used and the grade is given as a range.
Heart murmur in cats grade 2. This type of murmur is benign not harmful. Many cats show no symptoms of heart disease says Gibbons. Heart murmurs A heart murmur means that in addition to normal lub-dub heart sounds the vet can also hear extra sounds when listening with a stethoscope.
Heart murmurs are very common in cats one study shows more than one third of cats have a heart murmur. Sometimes though cats with heart murmurs or heart disease may not exhibit any symptoms. Murmur intensity or grade is defined below.
The vet is suggesting that it is a very uncommon condition but I have heard that sometimes they can be caused by real problems eg congenital defect or just because the kitten is stressed going to the vets and the vet is hearing turbulence in the blood going through the heart as the heart is so small. I got a call today and. My little Dexter had a check up on Saturday.
Cats Protection will only refer a cat to a specialist if classed as grade 5 or 6. As with puppies a heart murmur that is grade III or higher continuous still present at 6 months heard best on the right or that it is getting worse should be evaluated. Heart murmurs are graded on a scale of 1 to 6.
Birth defects and feline cardiomyopathy cause serious murmurs and hyperthyroidism can also cause heart murmurs. A grade 1 murmur is barely audible a grade 2 murmur is louder and a grade 3 murmur is loud but not accompanied by a thrill. If the heart murmur is severe enough to cause heart disease such as congestive heart failure then signs such as coughing difficulty breathing rapid breathing or even collapse may be seen.
Vets grade heart murmurs on a scale of 1 to 5 from the barely audible grade 1 to the very loud grade 5. Grade 2 occurs mostly in specific areas of the heart and is pretty faint. Other conditions with associated murmurs are systemic hypertension which is.