The most common reason an animal is referred to a cardiologist is because another veterinarian heard a heart murmur. A heart murmur is an extra “whooshing” sound. A heart murmur indicates that blood is moving abnormally within the heart. While heart murmurs are most commonly the result of heart disease, they can also be caused by non-cardiac illnesses.

The most common tools used by a cardiologist to investigate heart disease in pets are the echocardiogram, electrocardiogram (ECG), Holter monitors, and chest X-rays. Your primary veterinarian may use some of these tools prior to referring your pet to a cardiologist, as well as some other diagnostics including simple blood tests.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common heart disease in cats. In this disease, the heart muscle becomes abnormally thickened and stiff. This disease most commonly affects the left side of the heart, which is the side that carries blood from the lungs to the rest of the body.

The two most common heart conditions seen in dogs are degenerative valve disease (DVD) and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). While both conditions can lead to similar clinical signs and are often treated similarly, they progress differently and typically affect different kinds of dogs.