Diagnosed HCM and Heart Murmur

[Pixel]

So we finally were able to get Pixels heart scanned and unfortunately the results weren’t great. They confirmed HCM as well as heart murmur. Not the news we were hoping for, poor baby isn’t even one yet. Am waiting now to review results with vet to discuss treatment plan but I’d love to hear from anyone with similar situations so I am equipped with some information to discuss with the vet as I’m unsure as to their familiarity with Sphynx etc. Also any other tips to help him in terms of diet/lifestyle etc would be great too. Obviously I want him to live a happy life for as long as possible.

We will be going back for another scan in 6-8 months to see how it’s progressed.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Condo commando]

I lost a Siamese cat to HCM suddenly so I don't really have experience with actually treating HCM. It's great that you were proactive about getting this echo done.

After going thru stuff like this I have tried to educate myself on what can be done with diet to help with chronic disease. There's an important distinction - chronic disease like HCM is genetic and so the diet didn't cause the disease; however, diet can absolutely help manage symptoms of the disease.

This is what I would go for:

1. Feed a meat-based diet. Everyone knows to look for protein, but the source of the protein is important as well. Protein from meat is better than protein from plants. If you can feed human grade meat it's even better.

2. Supplement the diet with omega 3's. I'm attaching a paper from the Tufts Vet school that tells you how much you need and why. Usually omega 3's come from small, oily fish like sardines or herring. Also from green lipped mussels. You can also buy a supplement in pharmacies; I would just caution you to make sure you use omega 3 and not omega 6.

3. Supplement the diet with Ubiquinol. This one has gained popularity more recently. Sometimes it's also called CoQ10.....Ubiquinol is actually a form of CoQ10 which works best.

If you get interesting stuff from your vet please share; I guess I should speak for myself but I'm always trying to learn more about this.

 

[Yoda mom]

hugs n head smooches. tagging @Catzzzmeow

 

[Sheldon13]

Did they prescribe any meds? Ellie has cardiomyopathy too (diagnosed in March) and we maintain with meds and good food, along with fish oil supplements and as low of stress as possible in life.


Love and Sphynx ~ It’s all you need

 

[Pixel]

Atenolol is what they want me to start him on. I’m just waiting for them to send over the prescription. I believe we are doing liquid and slowly building up the dosage as he’s quite small.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Condo commando]

Link to a thread from last year. It's a good read.

How my HCM cat is defying the odds!!! All HCM cat owners MUST read!

A long read, but for any owners with HCM cats, you need to read this! I am not naive in the fact the HCM cannot be cured. However when my baby boy was diagnosed at 1 year old, it did not stop me from doing ENDLESS research on what works. Of course, a lot of pharmaceutical medication popped up...

sphynxlair.com

 

[Sheldon13]

Atenolol is what they want me to start him on. I’m just waiting for them to send over the prescription. I believe we are doing liquid and slowly building up the dosage as he’s quite small.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sounds good. @Catzzzmeow has a couple of kitties with heart issues I’m not sure what meds they are on. Ellie is on Enalapril, clopridogrel, furosemide and pemobenden


Love and Sphynx ~ It’s all you need

 

[Catzzzmeow]

Our one girl is on atenolol and clopidogrel. Our others is on a blood pressure med called Amlodipine besylate and is on clopidogrel and vetmedin. They have been doing well on them.

Our girl that is on atenolol is on 1/4 pill 2 times a day and she is a solid girl. The pills are tiny to start,so that’s why they are going to start with liquid. I don’t see how I could cut the pill any smaller than in quarters or they would crumble.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Condo commando]

Can I add one more thing - hawthorn.

So my complete list:
1. Meat based diet
2. Omega 3's
3. Ubiquinol
4. Hawthorn

 

[Uksphynxmum]

I have experience with both. My boy rizzy was diagnosed with a heart murmur grade 2 at 8 months never caused any issues and he lived till 12 years. I never tested him for HCM but he became very symptomatic at about 11.5 years. I have no idea how long he had it prior so do not have experience in early diagnosis and the early onset of medication is clearly better than late stage. I'm in the UK my boy had basically the same meds as catzzzzmeow. Vet did say if caught earlier less meds etc but he was essentially in heart failure stage when diagnosed. But as I say the murmur never changed. Good luck xx

 

[Kinseyray]

So we finally were able to get Pixels heart scanned and unfortunately the results weren’t great. They confirmed HCM as well as heart murmur. Not the news we were hoping for, poor baby isn’t even one yet. Am waiting now to review results with vet to discuss treatment plan but I’d love to hear from anyone with similar situations so I am equipped with some information to discuss with the vet as I’m unsure as to their familiarity with Sphynx etc. Also any other tips to help him in terms of diet/lifestyle etc would be great too. Obviously I want him to live a happy life for as long as possible.

We will be going back for another scan in 6-8 months to see how it’s progressed.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Did this have anything to do with the coughing/dry heaving he had a couple years before while he was purring?

 

[Yoda mom]

@Kinseyray , hi and welcome. pls note this a 2020 thread.
Please start you own post about your babies symptoms and questions,
please let us know details in your post you write if your baby has had recent wellness check? HCM echocardiogram? chest xrays?* we do not want your replies lost in older posts.

we are here for you. all paws are family. Hugs n head smooches