I took my shih-tzu for her booster jab this morning and the vet asked if a heart murmur was picked up at any other visit. This was news to me but now I am very worried. She is 5yrs old, always been a bit layed back (very slow) I asked the vet if this could shorten her life and she said yes.  She advised me to take her back in a couple of months time, which I will do. Does it ever go away or has she got this for the rest of her life. Can she still live to a good old age. Is there anything I can do to help her. So many questions but I was not expecting to be told this today.                                 

                                                       Maggie.

A friend of mine had a dobermann bitch who not only had a slight heart murmer all her life but had Throid problems needing daily medication.  she lived a very active life to the age of 12 (a good age for a Dobe) and died of Cancer totally unrelated to ehr heart or thyroid. :D

I would ask to be refered to a specialist cardioligist for a proper evaluation, as I think if the vet says the murmer is slight that they are maybe needlesly worrying you.

i will see what happens when I take her back in 2 months time but thank you for your reply. Hopefully it will something and nothing and she will live a long life with her sister (also a shih-tzu).

We had an Afghan with a heart murmur who lived until 15 and a Bichon with one who lived until 17.  They were never on medication it was just mentioned in an examination but the vet didnt make a big deal about it just kept an eye on it throughout their lives.

maggie
the vet may do an echo,egc on her to see whats wrong if anything.usually a mumur is just a leaking valve which shouldn't affect her alot.if they do an echo or ultra sound scan they can see the valve,measure the veins etc and give you a clear picture of any problems / future treatment or needs.alot of vets will just monitor her untill there is a need to investigate with more test's.but all heart problems are usually treated with daily med's to support the dog with the problem they have.they won't give her med's just for a mumur as it can't be treated in that way.i had a boxer that was born with the 2 major heart condtions that they get and i didn't know untill she was 3.the only thing they said was to let her exercise herself (what is enough for her) and give omega 3 fish oil as it is good for the heart.she had regular updates and checks through out her life and then was put on meds 2/3 years before we lost her.but she was happy etc and like a normal dog.the other thing you can watch is her weight,it is a big factor with heart conditions and gives you an idea of how she is generally.if she starts to lose weight get her checked as it is the heart increase the need on the body. she started to have fainting fits and the meds wasn't helping as much because her heart got worse with time but she only had 2/3 all her life.she went into failure and there was nothing more we/vets could do for her so we had to call it time and let her go.
the things she had were aortic stenosis and dilated cardiomyopathy but she was never in any kind of pain just restricted on what she could do towards the end.
hope this help's but don't worry just watch her and if you think she needs checking take her beck to the vets.

Thanks for your reply. She is a little overweight but the vet said she was not too worried about that. I will watch her weight though. Hopefully she will live a long and happy life. I will try not to worry too much and just keep having her checked out. I think its probably more important to let her do as much as she wants like she always has and face any problems as they arrive.