Hi

Could anybody explain to me about heart murmurs in cavaliers. I know what a heart murmur is but I dont know the severity levels grades.

thanks for your help

Maxine 

They're graded 1 to 6. What exactly do you want to know?

Hello

I adopted a very overweight rescue cavalier this week.  The rescue said he has a slight heart murmur grade 1-2.  I have him booked in to see my own vet next week and i took him to get weighed today - 18kg - and I got him food from the vets.  All I know is that heart murmurs in Cavs are quite common these days nothing else - does it restrict their day to day activity?  does it shorten their life?

Hopefully with a good diet and plenty of exercise he will have a long and healthy life - he is an abosolutely beautiful little dog with a fantastic temperament.

thanks for you help

Maxine 

Gosh 18 kgs he'll need to lose almost 50 % of his body weight! Should be a lot healthier after that. :) A grade 1-2 is nothing, and with such a lot of weight there's every chance he will be a lot healthier after the weight loss, but of course you cannot be sure the murmur will never get worse -we can't ever tell. How old is he? Some dogs stay on a low murmur  for a long time or even all their lives, others go from none or a low one to a high one in a very short space of time. The dogs with the best chance are usually those that develop a murmur as late in life as possible. (But 50 % will have one by age 5.) Of course, once/if it gets to a 5 or 6 it will have implications and most dogs will then need daily medication etc. My Rufus was murmur free until after 6, then went straight to a grade 6 aged 7. Vet said he'd die aged 7 but here he is aged 12! Not without his problems but happy. My MIL had a cavalier with a grade 4 and he died aged 9 simply because he was so overweight. (He too was 18 but she did nothing about it.)

Hi Marianne,

Thanks for that info.  Bobby is 3 years old and is proving to be an absolute delight - he absolutely loves going for walks and exploring everything so hopefully he will be a lot healthier and fitter before too long. 

Maxine

Aaaw Bobby sounds delightful! My harvey is 9kg and I'm cutting his food back a little and upping his excercise at the moment because he looks a bit podgy around the middle. I feed him 80g of Arden Grange and two little biscuits per day and thats his lot - they tend to put weight on so easily especially when neutered.