Observing the festivities of the golden fairy sprinkling gold dust at the Artsplosure street fair:
Our backyard wedding preparations:
Southern ladies are obsessed with good hair. My whole life I have dealt with curly, frizzy hair, and not in an attractive way. For as long as I can remember I have developed a love /hate relationship with the top of my head.
As noted in a childhood trip to the Statue of Liberty,
there is lifelong documentation I have lost the battle of hair. I have a bathroom tray of failed anti-frizz products that is one bottle short of being declared a toxic waste dump. Yet, today I read in the News and Observer headline “12 Products to Help Enhance Your Frizz”. What has happened? Frizz in the new mantra is embrace your natural textures. There is hope!
Why the hope discussion? Because many pet medical problems are considered hopeless. One, for example, is Pulmonary Hypertension.
It is high blood pressure in the arteries coming to and from the lungs. Experts believe it is secondary to restrictions within vessels leading to abnormal blood flow to other areas of the lungs. Although many patients have an unknown cause, risk factors include any lung disease, blood clots, tumors, heartworms, severe allergies, and heart conditions.
As a chronic condition, pulmonary hypertension ultimately leads to a back pressure of blood flowing from the right side of the heart and eventual right-sided heart failure. In addition, it decreases blood flow to the body from the left side of the heart.
Yes, because the subtle changes in health may not be recognized quickly in dogs.
WHAT ARE THE SIGNS?
Symptoms include cough, pale gums, increased rate of breathing, respiratory distress, loss of appetite, and depression. Many will faint if they walk across a room. If the right side of the heart fails, the belly maybe distended.
ARE THERE CLASSICAL TESTS?
Once stabilized, chest x-rays (radiographs), bloodwork, sound waves of the heart (echocardiogram), Doppler blood flow, and the measuring of pressures.
TREATMENTS?
It can be a challenge to treat. Oxygen therapy and Viagra (sildenafil) to reduce pulmonary hypertension and pimobendin are among the treatment medications. Identification and treatment of the primary cause is key.
PROGNOSIS
Control, but not cure.
DO PEOPLE GET A SIMILAR DISEASE?
YES
Betsy T. Sigmon, DVM, Diplomate American Board of Veterinary Practitioners, Canine & Feline
Creature Comforts Animal Hospital
Cary, NC
