CAG with Heart Disease - Good News

[vdimattia]

I posted a call for information regarding heart disease in birds, on the chance that one of you had also experienced this. FYI: Buzzy, my 7 year old CAG, has an enlarged heart that beats alarmingly fast (see my previous thread 7/23/09). I am happy to report that my vet has found a drug that will slow his heart beat down and that may give Buzzy a better chance to survive this disease. In case there are others out there who face this issue, the medications to control the strength of heartbeat and speed of heartbeat are: Pimobendan, .12 cc twice/day and Diltiazem, .25 cc twice/day. My vet, Dr. Brian Loudis, All Pets Animal Hospital, Encinitas, CA 760-634-2022, would be glad to share information with your vet if you should ever have a need.

Just so you know, heart disease in birds usually goes undetected until it's too late. I was very lucky to notice that Buzzy seemed to be gaining weight and that triggered me to take him to the vet for his annual check up. It was at this point that the vet discovered the heart disease. Fluid had filled Buzzy's body up so much that it looked like he had a big pot belly between his legs. He was given a diuretic for 6 weeks to rid his body of 100 grams of fluid (all due to the heart disease). Please look very closely at your birds every day and don't forget to consider the health of the heart -- there are no overt symptoms until it's too late. If you catch it in time there are medical courses of action, albeit few, since not alot of research has been done on bird heart disease. Vets mainly look at what works for dogs and cats and try to make it work for birds, too.

[asulli]

It is very kind of you to come back to the board and post this information. I am glad that your CAG is doing better and that a medication has been found. I think this proves that a vet visit is necessary when you notice a change in your FID. Again thank you.

[Lisa B]

Thank you for sharing and wishing you both the best with the new meds!