Hi,

This is my first post.  I have a 6 year old Dogue de Bordeaux who collasped/fainted a couple of times during the day last Thursday.  I took her to the vets and they wanted me to bring her in this week for a scan/xrays etc.  When I got home she collapsed so many times in a short space of time that I rushed her back to the vets where they took tests and gave her medication (seguril and karsivan) and told me to come back to see the specialist today.  Over the weekend she has continued to collapse at an alarming rate and I took her again today to see the specialist.  They took an X ray and scans and told me to go back tomorrow for the results.  From what he can see without looking in depth is that her heart is enlarged and is not pumping strongly enough for the blood to get to her head (hence the fainting).  I live in Spain and although her treatment has been excellent I feel that I am not getting all the answers I want/need.  I need someone to be brutally honest with me and tell me if the medication will give her a long happy life or if it will only improve things for a limited time before her heart completely gives up.  Watching her faint is extremely scary as she is so large I am concerned about her doing damage to herself on the way down.  She had an operation 6 months ago to remove two large tumours (benign) from her back and when she was tested prior to the op her heart was given the all clear.  What can suddenly cause this to happen?  I am sorry the post is so long, but I need someone to tell me (in my mother tongue) what I can expect.  Thanks very much in advance.

no idea about the health problem just wanted to say good luck for the results and i hope everything is dealt with ok. sounds awful for you and your girl. big {{{{hug}}}}

Sorry I have no help for you on this front but as heart problems is one of the illnesses listed by the breed club maybe you could get in contact with them.  They shouldn't mind that you are in a different country and not a member.  Here's the address:  www.DDBCGB.co.uk

Hope that someone will be able to help you.

Did they blood test for thyroid conditions?
As thyroid disfunction can cause the heart to enlarge if left undiagnosed.
If it is thyroid disfunction the heart can recover if the right medication is given over a period of time.

The other thing which isn't very nice is a heart condition called Cardiomyopathy.
Again a vet that specialises in cardiology would need to make a proper diagnosis.

You can read about some of the heart conditions here
www.boxerbreedcouncil.co.uk
Click on health and then CM (for cardiomyopathy).

Not really sure but here are some links that may or may not be helpful....

http://www.seefido.com/html/dog_fainting_or_collapse.htm

copy and pasted:

Collapse or Fainting. Acute collapse is a sudden loss of strength causing your dog to fall and be unable to rise. Some dogs that suddenly collapse will actually lose consciousness. This is called fainting or syncope. Some dogs recover very quickly and look essentially normal just seconds to minutes after collapsing, whereas others stay in the collapsed state until helped. All the reasons for collapse or fainting are serious and should not be ignored. See your veterinarian immediately.

Acute collapse is a sudden loss of strength causing your dog to fall and be unable to rise. In acute collapse, your pet falls to the ground either into a sitting position (hind limb collapse) or a lying position (complete collapse). Some dogs that suddenly collapse will actually lose consciousness. This is called fainting or syncope. Some dogs recover very quickly and look essentially normal just seconds to minutes after collapsing, whereas others stay in the collapsed state until helped.

Acute collapse is usually caused by a disorder of one of the following:

The nervous system (brain, spinal cord, nerves)

The musculoskeletal system (bones, joints, muscles)

The circulation (heart, blood vessels, blood)

The respiratory system (mouth, nose, throat, lungs)

What To Watch For

If your dog suffers an acute collapse, he will sit down suddenly or lie down and won't be able to get back up....

The term syncope (or fainting) refers to a brief period of unconsciousness due a lack of blood flow or oxygen to the brain. Syncope causes collapse, which may last from seconds to minutes. Most fainting "spells" are due to low blood pressure or lack of oxygen delivery to the brain (cerebral hypoxia). Syncope is a clinical sign, not a diagnosis or primary form of heart disease.

Blood pressure depends mostly on heart and blood vessel function. Accordingly, disorders of the heart or vessels (cardiovascular system) are the most common causes of syncope. Often, the cause is an electrical disturbance of the heart (slow or irregular heart activity). At other times, there is a structural problem of the heart (such as an abnormality of the heart muscle or a valve) or pericardial disease (the sac around the heart). Recurrent syncopal attacks may cause brain injury.

Thank you for your replies.  They did do blood tests but I think that was only to check her other organs, I will ask them about thyroid tests.

I have to go at 4pm, today for all the results.  I will post again when I know what the problem is. 

As regards heart medication, if this is an option, I would definitely go down that road. I currently have a dog that has been on heart medication for over 6 years and those have all been very happy years for him. He wasn't expected to live until 7 yet now he is over 13, and he's not the first I've had.  Without the medication he would be long gone, and the last days would have been miserable as well -the medication often gives them a totally new lease of life. It can however take a few weeks to work properly and for the vet to work out the best combination and dosage of medicines.

Well we have been to the specialist for the results and they have diagnosed Cardiomyopathy :-(  She has been put on Vetmedin 5mg, Seguril and Fortekor. If has anyone had experience of any of the drugs above and also the condition,  please let me know what I should expect.  I appreciate that it varies from dog to dog, but any information would be much appreciated.  I have four very anxious and worried children that I feel should be prepared if we have only been prescribed a short term fix.  Like all children, they associate medicine with getting better.

Thanks for all your input so far.