Can mitral valve disease be treated?
Many animals with mitral valve disease show no signs of heart disease and these patients require no specific treatment. If your pet is not showing any signs of ill health your vet will just monitor them regularly to detect any progression of disease. If heart failure develops then appropriate treatment can be started. There are many drugs that can be used to help animals with heart failure these include: • Diuretics (usually furosemide and spironalactone) – to stop fluid retention in the circulation and the lungs • ACE inhibitors – to help to prevent fluid retention and make it easier for the heart to pump blood • Pimobendan – to improve efficiency of heart function • Digoxin – to slow the heart rate and may help it to function more effectively. Not all these drugs are appropriate in every animal and your vet will decide on the best treatment programme for your pet and will discuss these choices with you. Often a combination of drugs is needed and the doses of drugs may change with tim
