Atrial Septal Defect in Dogs

What is the atrial septal defect?

If your dog has atrial septal defect, it has a defect or hole in the wall separating the left and right atrium of the heart. Heart consists of four chambers, and the left and right atria are the two of them. The walls between the rooms of the heart muscle called the septal. When the dog is still embryonic heart consists of a single tube. This fund will then gradually separated into four chambers before the puppy is born. Handicapped can grow at different steps of the process, and the result can be small or large defects in the atrial septal dog heart. Precise effects in dogs will depend on how big the defective and exactly where he is.

Symptoms of atrial septal defects in dogs

If your dog has only a small atrial septal defect, may not show symptoms of ASD at all. Your dog but perhaps additional exposure to respiratory infection. If your dog has a large atrium septal defect, the situation is worse because of such defects will cause abnormal blood flow from the left side of the heart through the defect and into the right side. This makes a bigger workload for the right side of the heart, and this in turn can cause the right side of the heart fails to be shut down without seeking treatment. Dogs with large atrial septal defect may develop symptoms such as fainting, exercise intolerance, difficulty breathing, fainting, abnormal heart rhythm, and swelling. Right side heart failure may cause sudden death. A dog only with small atrial septal defect on the other hand will usually reach normal age for his breed.

When your vet check the dog with atrial septal defect, it usually will be able to hear heart murmurs. This heart murmurs can be seen at the first physical examination young pup.

Breeds commonly affected by atrial septal defect

Atrial septal defect (ASD) is a hereditary disease, but the exact mode of inheritance has not been found. Dogs with ASD can not be used for breeding, and should not be parents. Brother can be used to multiply, but only after careful examination. Atrial septal defect is the general condition of all the generations, but Boxer, Doberman Pinscher, Old English bulldog, and Samoyed have an increased risk for ASD.

Atrial septal defect treatment for dogs

As the signs of heart disease begins to exist in your dog, your vet can arrange a variety of treatments to alleviate symptoms. Veterinarian can prescribe medication that will support the heart and reduce congestion in each lung. This should normally be combined with the limited sports and low-sodium diet.

In dogs with decided symptoms of heart disease, your vet may decide to close the surgical defect. This is a very risky procedure because it involves open heart surgery.