June Visit to the Cardiologist

It had been two months since she last saw the cardiologist and she was due for a check-up.  She seemed fine.  Here are the findings:

Today's radiographs revealed a decline in the size of Myrna's heart.  Further, there was no evidence of congestive heart failure.  Myrna's echocardiogram revealed that her left atrium has again decreased in size (currently 1.52 cm, was 1.69 cm in April and 1.83 cm in January.)  Further, the right side of Myrna's heart appears normal today.  Overall, Myrna's cardiac disease is considered stable at this time.  However, due to Myrna's history, she is still considered to be at fairly high risk for redeveloping congestive heart failure. 

So, there was great improvement in Myrna's heart and function.  The heartbeat and respiratory rates were normal. The doctor said whatever we were doing was working and not to change a thing.  I assumed the vitamins and the COQ10 she had been taking for six weeks had helped the heart.   The vet also said Myrna could take Revolution for fleas as long as she remains stable.

Lesson learned:

I learned that by researching human studies on heart disease, I can discover information that can be applied to Myrna.  There may not be enough information out there on cats for vets to know what to recommmend to patients.  I did not find studies on animals regarding vitamins and supplements (although they may exist.)  I asked if the results of the human studies can be applied to cats and yes, for the most part, they can.  So far, the results have been great.