Taco Belle Times: "Tails" of a Baby Boomer Veterinarian: THE VISIT TO A VETERINARY SPECIALIST IN A REFERRAL CENTER

I spent this past weekend with my five siblings in the Blowing Rock area of North Carolina for a family reunion and to enjoy the autumn foliage.

This annual fall gathering is a chance to share board games, coffee, and stories that make our family unique & bonded. I've learned that there is an actual term for the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of the mouth, arachbutyrophobia. Between meals that resembled the buffet line at “Golden Corral” and homemade breakfast, lots of exercise was needed to wear off the calories. One of the best hikes was the Flat Top Mountain trail up to the fire tower.

The multiple panoramic views of the fall colors were stunning. The National Park site is the former estate of Moses Cone, also called the “denim king” of Greensboro textiles.

Unfortunately, I knew that the upcoming week would require further investigation into the reason for the sudden and unexpected significant heart murmur in my precious dog “Taco Belle” during her annual physical. I selected the NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine cardiology service, recognized for their excellent facility and outstanding clinicians.

WHAT SHOULD YOU TAKE TO REFERRAL CENTERS FOR PLANNED SECOND OPINIONS & DIAGNOSTICS?

I had emailed her digital radiographs prior to the appointment. However, obtaining your own digital link or a CD (replacing hard copy radiographs of the past) is a useful backup plan. In addition, pre-faxing medical records, medications, laboratory test results, and immunization dates (specifically Rabies) is helpful to expedite the check in process.

HOW DID TACO BELLE TAKE THE NEW HOSPITAL VISIT AT NCSU?

Taco Belle is a great traveler and waited in her blanket until the examination and Doppler blood pressure check.

DESCRIBE WHAT HAPPENDED DURING THE CARDIOLOGY Echocardiogram EXAMINATION?

With technicians holding her gently on a padded table (with a semi-circular opening) centralized over the heart, the veterinary cardiologist, Dr. Terri Defrancesco applied a gel covered probe on the skin near the heart from different directions.

Utilizing sound waves, the images of the four heart chamber sizes and velocity of blood flowing through the heart are recorded. Later the dimensions are measured & calculated on a separate computer screen.

WHAT WAS FOUND?

Taco Belle has mitral valve endocardiosis and insufficiency along with left atrium enlargement.

In simple terms, this means that the heart valve that controls the blood flow between the upper and lower chambers on the left side of the heart (mitral valve) is starting to deteriorate. The sudden onset is suspect that one of the attachments of the valve (called the chordae tendineae) has slightly ruptured.

WHAT IS THE TREATMENT?

She is already on a Royal Canin GI low fat diet that has the lower sodium of 100mg/100 kcals. To slow the onset of heart failure, a medication, enalapril, to help the heart work more effectively is prescribed. The picture below is of Taco Belle's cardiologist with the gift of the new children's book I recently wrote.

WHAT IS THE PROGNOSIS?

Taco looks and acts fine. She sleeps and plays as usual with the occasional hesitation to go up the steps. She still performs her “happy dance” racing through the house 90 miles an hour on occasion that makes her family happy. There is no way of predicting when she will go into heart failure: 6 months or 3 years from now. When she does, the next steps to treat the anticipated coughing, distended belly, and weakness will include added medications such a diuretic to remove fluids and pimobendin to help the heart work more effectively.

Betsy T. Sigmon, DVM, Diplomate American Board of Veterinary Practitioners, Canine & Feline

Creature Comforts Animal Hospital

Cary, NC