# Dilated Cardiomyopathy



## ana (Jan 21, 2009)

I know I haven't posted in ages... but I thought I would come and share what's going on with Eva.

Everything was (or at least it seemed) fine until today... when I found her lying in her litter box, all spread out and instantly knew something was wrong. (She had pushed the litter off to the side and made a space for herself in one corner.) It seemed like a.) she might have a fever and b.) like she might have an upper respiratory infection (runny nose, making weird breathing noises).

So, we took her to the emergency vet (and yeah, veterinary care on a Saturday is not cheap, let me tell you). Very luckily the veterinarian that was attending today happens to be an exotics vet though (and is even on the vet list here, actually... Dr. David Hannon in Memphis, TN).

Turns out it's a lot worse than a simple infection... and that her heart is extremely dilated. 










She is on Furosemide and Enalapril now... + Albuterol for her breathing. We're going to take her back to Dr. Hannon as soon as we can get an appointment so he can do proper blood work since the emergency vet office was not equipped to do it.

I found this excerpt from "Exotic Small Mammal Care and Husbandry" on google as well, which mentions those first 2 drugs he put her on as well...










Poor girl... She's not even that old (a bit over 2 years).

Does anyone else have experience with this? I'm really worried about her because everything seems to point to the outlook not being good... 

Eva around this time last year:










Today:










I really hope she can pull through... even if she has to permanently be on heart meds.


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## ana (Jan 21, 2009)

The only thing that was even a little bit odd was that she hadn't used her wheel in a while (which is also, I assume, why she's slightly overweight - she's not omg huge or anything though). I didn't really think too much of it though because it's not the first time she's quit running for long periods of time. 

Apparently this might be why she stopped though...


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

Awww, I'm so sorry this is happening to you and Eva. I remember how much you love her and all the things that you do for her. I can't comment on the heart condition, but I just wanted to say *hugs*.


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## ana (Jan 21, 2009)

Immortalia said:


> Awww, I'm so sorry this is happening to you and Eva. I remember how much you love her and all the things that you do for her. I can't comment on the heart condition, but I just wanted to say *hugs*.


Thanks so much... The vet said it was a genetic thing, so I'm surprised a search of the forums here only pulled up one post. :/


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

Ya, and it's getting kinda late, so Nancy, Niki and Deneen may probably already be in bed. But I'm sure they'll comment first thing in the morning. 
Keeping Eva in my thoughts


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## ana (Jan 21, 2009)

Immortalia said:


> Ya, and it's getting kinda late, so Nancy, Niki and Deneen may probably already be in bed. But I'm sure they'll comment first thing in the morning.
> Keeping Eva in my thoughts


Yeah. I'm a bit of a night owl... worried about Eva too, obviously. I'll probably stay up most of the night and then Wes will take care of things (and give her her medication) in the AM.

I'm just googling away about cardiomyopathy, the different medications, etc...

I just wish I had known sooner... cause it's not like an overnight thing, ya know? :/

Today's just the first time she's really shown symptoms of being sick...

(Well, that and she hadn't been eating quite as much as usual for a few days... but, just like the lack of wheeling, I didn't really think "omg, there must be something terribly wrong" just based on that.)


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

I'm so sorry you guys have to be going through this! I really hope things work out & she can be with you for a long time, even if it is on meds. I'll be thinking of you today.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

I'm sorry this is happening to Eva.

Are you a member of the Hedgehog Welfare Society Yahoo group? http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/hedg ... =294938098 If not, I suggest joining. There are a few people on there who have had hedgehogs with heart problems and I believe there is one going through it right now.

Hugs

Edited to add: Don't beat yourself up over it. I've had many over the years that randomly quit wheeling or quit for a while and they didn't have heart issues.


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## MissC (Nov 15, 2010)

I am SO sorry for you and Eva. I'm sure there's nothing you could have done differently to change the outcome...thinking of you both


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## emeko (Nov 28, 2009)

Woah, now you have me freaked out. The last few weeks I've noticed Beck has been a bit pokey, and I've been really perplxed by how he's taking to nestling himself splat into his litterbox. I kind of wrote it off to my room being hot, but his expression looks SO MUCH like hers. He's been sleeping more than usual too, and sometimes it's hard to even get him to wake up for his food, or he'll start eating his food, then just go back to bed halfway through, which is *unusual* for him, and he's never done it before in his life. He's about 3 and a half.
Hmm.
Now a paranoid vet visit might be in order.


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## tie-dye hedgie (Dec 19, 2009)

Sending positive thoughts you and Eva's way. 
Please keep us updated.


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## amber.vroman (Nov 2, 2010)

I do have experience with this, unfortunately. I lost my little BubbleWrap to a combination of heart disease and pneumonia. This sounds EXACTLY like the beginning of what happened to BubbleWrap right down to the age. Luckily, you acted quicker than I did. Because of BubbleWraps heart disease, he became less active and ate less and then, as a result, he got sick. My advice to you would be to keep an eye on all activity and do not hesitate to go back to the vet. I am so sorry you have to go through this and my thoughts are with you and your little hedgie.


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## ana (Jan 21, 2009)

Thanks everyone for the kind thoughts...

Nancy - I'm actually not a member there. I will definitely check it out though.

emeko - I hope your little guy is okay! The vet did tell us that it's something that develops over time, so you might take him in for a checkup/xrays. It can't hurt. I sincerely hope it isn't a heart problem for you as well though.

amber - That does sound the same... We just thought she was sick as soon as we noticed her acting so strange. 

She's not looking too good today. It almost seems worse than yesterday... She moves around every few minutes to change positions and plops right back down on her stomach. She won't eat (or drink) anything we've tried to give her (she's moved some around, but hasn't eaten a single bit). At least yesterday she'd drink water/sugar water. The only thing better about today is that she's not making the breathing noises (before it sounded like she was having trouble there), so I assume that's the albuterol working.

I gather it all kind of comes down to whether or not she wants to fight it and/or the condition of her liver, which is something we won't know about until we can have blood work done on Monday.


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## ana (Jan 21, 2009)

I'm very sad to say that we lost her a little while ago...

She quit eating/drinking completely. Wes tried to administer a dose of albuterol to her a little over an hour ago and she wouldn't even begin to open her mouth for it (she took her morning doses, so we weren't having a problem with that this morning)... very, very shortly after that she started having more difficulty breathing and started going into convulsions.


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## Nebular (Dec 28, 2010)

Reading this just broke my heart. I'm so sorry.


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## PJM (May 7, 2010)

I'm SO sorry! That's such heart-breaking news. I wish I could hug you. I'm so sorry that you have to go through this. I'll be keeping you in my thoughts.


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## tie-dye hedgie (Dec 19, 2009)

This brought me to tears, I am so, so sorry to hear this. May she rest in peace. ((Hugs))


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## Hedgieonboard (Nov 15, 2009)

I am so sorry for your loss, you did everything you could to help her. I can tell she was very loved.


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## Nancy (Aug 22, 2008)

Oh no! I am so sorry. She was a beautiful little girl. 

Hugs


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## fracturedcircle (May 31, 2010)

Nancy said:


> I've had many over the years that randomly quit wheeling or quit for a while and they didn't have heart issues.


yeah, i freak out every time Harvey randomly stops wheeling and then he gets a clean bill of health. go figure.


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## susanaproenca (Aug 14, 2010)

I am so so sorry for you. This is completely heart breaking. 

Hugs.


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## amber.vroman (Nov 2, 2010)

I am so sorry. I completely understand how you must be feeling. You did everything that you could. Just remember how wonderful of a life that you gave her. *hugs*


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## fracturedcircle (May 31, 2010)

OMG, i just saw the post that Eva passed away. i am terribly, terribly sorry for your loss. but she knew you love her and you were there for her.


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## emeko (Nov 28, 2009)

I'm so sorry for your loss. She knew you loved her.
You've prompted me to get Beck checked out too I think. I just snapped these pictures five minutes. ago. :/


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## Immortalia (Jan 24, 2009)

Oh no! I'm so sorry about Eva  I know how much you loved her.
*hugs*


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## ana (Jan 21, 2009)

Thank you, everyone, so much... It really means a lot to me.

emeko - I hope Beck is okay. Please do let us know how his vet visit goes!


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## Tasha (Feb 24, 2009)

My heart breaks for you. Sending all my love.

Hope Beck is ok too. 

xxxxx


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## zorropirate (Aug 13, 2010)

I am so sorry you lost your little one and so quickly. 



My cat Max has cardiomyopothy and asthma, he is on (sorry I don't know the correct spellings of his meds off hand so they are typed how they sound) ferosimde(which is a medication to reduce fluid buildup) fortekor (for his heart) salbutaml (puffer for asthma attacks) plavix (to prevent blood clots from his heart not working correctly) and flowvent(a puffer steroid to strenghten his lungs). Max's symptoms showed up VERY suddenly and apparently it was a massive fluke his heart condition was discovered. I am very thankful to our vets for being such a support team. He has routine cardiograms on his heart and chest x-rays, he's also spent many nights in oxygen tents. Heart disease is scary and you can't always see the symptoms. 

Hugs to all out there going through similar situations.


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