Natural Treatment of Heart Disease in Senior Dogs

Natural treatment for heart disease in senior dogs addresses what you the pet parent can do to prevent and treat heart conditions in your senior dog by use of natural means-supplements and exercise. It is estimated that heart disease affects more than 3.2 million dogs a year-either through congenital defect (the pup was born with it) or through acquired heart disease (developed through age.) I have to say (broken record time again), how important regular veterinary visits are for your pet; the earlier heart disease is detected, the more that can be done to improve and extend your dog's life!

The first step to treating heart disease in dogs is preventing it in the first place. By keeping your dog at a healthy weight and keeping her active, you can prevent a host of health problems in the future and heart disease is one of these. Feeding your dog a natural, varied and healthy diet in the appropriate quantities for her size and activity level is a formula for successful weight management. When you manage your dog's weight to head-off obesity, you control a major risk factor for heart disease in dogs. Keeping your dog active through walking, swimming, games of fetch keeps his cardiovascular system fit and able to deliver the oxygenated blood to support healthy muscle function.

But what about the dog who, while generally healthy, has developed heart disease? Where do we go from there? There are several types of heart disease that occur in dogs, just as there are in humans and the treatment mode varies according to symptoms and progression of the disease. Your vet is the best source for diagnosing and making an effective treatment plan for your dog, but natural treatment for heart disease can play an effective role.

It is a fact that there are certain dog breeds who have a greater tendency to heart disease. For example, larger breeds of dogs have a stronger predisposition to dilated cardiomyopathy, a condition where the heart valve becomes so enlarged that it can no longer pump blood effectively throughout the body. Dobermans, Great Danes, German Shepherds and Labrador Retrievers are among these larger breeds that are at particular risk. (Does this mean your Doberman, Shepherd, Lab or Great is doomed to this fate? No! Relax, take good care of your dog and just know that this is a predisposition for this breed - see your vet annually!) Low-salt diets that are supplemented with taurine, co-q10,and l-carnitine are recommended for these breeds and other larger dogs as a preventative measure. Consult your vet for the proper dose for your dog or check out the dosing chart here.

Aside from breed-specific genetic predispositions to heart disease, there are several types of heart conditions that may affect senior dogs.Diseases of the heart valves, ventricles, muscle tissue and those due to abnormal electrical activity (arrythmias) are among a number of primary disease types that can benefit from nutritional intervention. Many of these do not present with symptoms in the early stages, however, symptoms of left-side congestive heart failure (fluid accumulation in the lung) may present as lethargy, wheezing or cough, weakness or collapsing. This description is by no means exhaustive of heart disease symptomatology in senior dogs; a great article can be found at Thorne research, Alternative Medicine Review.

There are indeed pharmaceutical treatments for these diseases, however, the results are mixed as to whether the benefits outweigh the risks of the side-effects. There are several good sources of information on pharmaceuticals used in the treatment of canine heart disease, this article being one of them. A good vet will recommend the appropriate agent and educate you on what to expect for your dog. As mentioned earlier, many of these conditions benefit from improved nutrition and supplementation in appropriate doses of co-q10, L-carnitine, vitamin E and taurine. After consulting your vet, go to your health food store or vitamin shop and purchase the highest quality supplements you can afford. The correct supplementation is healthier than unnecessary pharmaceutical treatment and far more economically sensible.

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