Hi all,
Long time (nearly 2 years!) since i posted. Long story short went from having our Molly & Freya and son Kieran to extending the family to another son Euan a year ago.
Anyway the girls have been brilliant with our boys and we are a happy family.
Well until today that is.

Today Freya at the grand age of 6 has been disgnosed with a heart murmur. Now i know she'll end up on medication but i'd liek some advice and experiences of this from other ckcs peeps.

Ultimately i know its only a faint one at the mo but am aware it will get progressively worse. Want to prepare myself so that i can make her life the best it can be and ultimately prepare Kieran, now 3.5, over time for the changes to her.

Sorry if this is more rambly than qnything else but thank you in advance

What do you want to know? I've had 5 Cavaliers over the years. My Rufus, that I've often mentioned on here, went from no murmur at all to a grade 6 when he was 7 ½. The vet said it was so bad he would not live to Christmas that year. He lived until he was 15 years, 2 months and 2 days old. He was on medication all that time and had a great life. Yes the last few years he was doddery, various problems (the occasional fit, shook a lot, fell over now and then), but until his final day he was still happy. I always let him chose what he wanted to do. If he wanted a walk he got one. If he wanted to stay at home, he stayed at home. He went back to training classes aged 9 and passed his gold test. In many ways it was all far worse for us because we spent so many years expecting to find him dead one day. After about 6 years we started to believe he'd NEVER die. He ended up living longer than any dog I've ever had, of any breed, and after a few weeks without him, we got another cavalier, from the same breeder. If and when Monty's heart gets bad, I will take each day as it comes and not worry. I won't expect 15 years, but I won't expect just a few short months either. I know he's from longlived lines.

It's important to keep the weight down, the dog needs to be slim. I had another Cavalier who got just a grade 3 murmur when he was about 7. My mother in law had him living with her his last few years (long story) and she overfed him so much he was twice his ideal weight. He died aged 9 ½ despite having a much better heart than Rufus did. Rufus was always kept on the slim side.

Thanks Marianne. The girls have lost 2kg over the past few months. Freya weighed in at 8.65kg today.
I guess i'm unsure to whether i need to make changes to her diet/lifestyle or whether we just carry on the way we are, are there any things i need to keep an eye out for to indicate it getting worse.

I'm rambling sorry :(

Also is the food important? Well they are on ocean fish arden grange but i read something about low sodium foods and also q10.
Arhhh information overload when you google it

To be blunt, Rufus was fed total rubbish for all his life. Cheapest possible. He was on Gusto, he was on Wagg, he was on Winalot -you name it. Many switches over the years. It was really only his last year he was on high quality food like Nature Diet. So personally I don't think the food made any difference, just that it's important to keep the weight down.

My Henry got a heart murmur at just short of 5, but needed no medication until he was nearly 8 years old. A low dosage of vetmedin kept him comfortable until he sadly died suddenly of a heart attack this June. Most Cavs go on for years with tablets though, I think that was unusual!

Dont change a thing!
I have a Cav who at 7 yrs and a month was diagnosed with a grade 6 heart murmur, I will never forget the day I found out.  It was 22nd December, I was told she might make christmas, but wouldnt see in the New Year.  That was 2007, today she is celebrating her 10th birthday and showing no signs of giving in!  I am in another breed now, and my cav is seen as the club mascot as she comes along to every show with my young bitch.  She was even photographed with my young bitch when a magazine did a breed feature on us!
Keeping a normal weight is a must, I moved my girl onto a senior food so she still got a decent sized meal and didnt pile on the pounds.  I also swear that its regular exercise that is keeping her heart strong and giving her a quality of life.  She is walked for an hour off lead every day.  She doesn't gallop along with my youngster, some times she paddles along slowly behind me, sometimes she chases seagulls and throws herself off 2m high cliffs!  She goes out every day, but she picks how much exercise she actually does.
A heart murmur in a cav isn't a death sentence, they are strong little fighters!  And the drugs available do wonders.  Make a point when the time comes to ask for the flavoured vet medin instead of the capsules.  Mine loves the taste so much I had to move where I kept them as she was breaking into the cupboard to get to them.  (Never did that to get to her food).  My cav is a druggy and proud of it!

my old girl has a heart murmur and has had for a few years now she is not on any medication and is approachimg 12 years old. Hers appeared suddenly too she was fine while she was with me went to live with a friend and two years later had a grade 6 murmur. She is showing in veterans now and has been to crufts, her daghter grand daughter and great grandson are up to now murmur free

Thank you ladies. That is very reassuring!  Am going to keep her fit and healthy and keep her on a good diet.

I obviously went into panic mode (or recticinal hijjack as they say in education) and thought the worse. Fingers crossed i can do right by her.