Your primary care doctor should be the first person you talk to when you don’t feel well. Your doctor may send you to a specialist if your case is very difficult or if you want a second opinion. Care for animals is the same. Most likely, your first step will be to take your pet to a vet who does general care. Veterinarians can now talk to a growing number of veterinary experts, just like doctors can with people.
When Should My Pet See a Veterinary Cardiologist?
After you go here for your pet annual exam, your regular vet may have told you to see a veterinary cardiologist because your pet has a heart murmur, an enlarged heart, or an elevated proBNP test, which is common in cats with mitral valve disease and dilated cardiomyopathy.
A board-certified veterinary cardiologist is the best person to talk to about a pet’s heart disease to find out what kind, how bad, and how to treat it. When you take your pet to a cardiologist, an expert can do an exam and diagnostic tests that are tailored to your pet’s heart needs.
What Is the Difference Between a Vet Cardiologist and My Regular Veterinarian?
Vet cardiologists from the Vet4HealthyPet website or any other site see a wide range of complicated heart cases every day. Some cardiologists only look at cases that have to do with the heart. They often get difficult cases in their hearts that other veterinary professionals can’t handle. They also help and guide other veterinary professionals who need more help. Because they see so many different kinds of heart problems, they learn more about the subject and become familiar with how conditions can show up in odd ways.
What Exactly Does a Veterinary Cardiologist Do?
A vet cardiologist is a doctor who has finished vet school and then went on to get more training to become an expert on heart problems. They can fully figure out what’s wrong with a pet’s heart or lungs and treat them. A specialist in dog and cat cardiology may recommend that a pet with any of the following signs see them about their heart:
- Elevated blood pressure
- Breathing problems or shortness of breath
- Irregular heart rate
- Coughing
- Weakness
- Fainting
The consultation could include ways to prevent heart failure and keep pets with heart disease safe and healthy over the long run. No matter what you do, the main goal is to improve the pet’s life and keep it that way.
What Technologies Do Veterinary Cardiologists Use to Make a Diagnosis?
Several non-invasive tools help the cardiologist figure out if the pet has a problem with its heart or lungs. All of them are like the tools used on people. Some of them are well-known, like echo cardiology tools, which use sound waves to make an image of the heart and figure out how strong and healthy it is.
Others are:
- Radiology devices. They give vital information about everything that is contained within the chest cavity.
- Electrocardiography. Generates recordings that evaluate the pet’s heart rate and any possible irregularities.
- Blood tests. They are used to assess the pet’s kidney function, thyroid status, and other essential factors.
- Other critical and specialized tests. These can be used to identify the presence and severity of pet heart disease.
Conclusion
If your pet has a heart problem, you’ll need to talk to a veterinary doctor. If your pet needs to see a cardiologist, your normal vet can recommend one. Because they get so much training in school and as they work, veterinary cardiologists are the only ones who can treat a wide range of difficult heart and circulatory problems. They also have access to cutting-edge diagnostic tools and are at the forefront of some of the newest ways to help patients.