HEART problems can arise as part of the ageing process. A heart is a muscular organ and just as in humans, the dog's heart can start to weaken with age.

Endocarditis

This is where the endocardium of the heart becomes inflamed and also there is damage caused to the heart valves. Luckily it's not a very common cause of heart disease in the dog. It is not necessarily a disease of ageing as the cause is usually a bacterial infection.

The symptoms of endocarditis are shortness of breath, poor appetite and apparent depression as well as a slight fluctuating temperature. The dog usually seems listless, easily puffed and disinterested.

Myocarditis

Poisoning by certain metals or certain infections can cause disease to the myocardium or heart muscle itself. The myocardium can become enlarged. Inflammation of the myocardium is called myocarditis and is usually caused by an infection.

The symptoms of this disease are exhaustion and difficulty breathing during even small amounts of exercise.

Pericarditis

Pericarditis is where the heart sac becomes inflamed because of an infection like influenza or pleurisy. The dog will be weak and the vet will notice a change in her/his pulse.

Mitral valve dysplasia

This is a deformity of the valve which causes blood to regurgitate at each beat. There are certain breeds which have a tendency for this - German shepherds, great Danes, cavalier King Charles spaniels and bull terriers.

Hawthorn - the hearty herb

If I was only able to have 10 herbs in my dispensary, Hawthorn (Crataegus oxyacantha) would be included in that top 10 must-have list. Both the leaves and the berries are used to make herbal extracts. A medical herbalist will often choose the leaves for certain heart problems and berries for others. However, you can't go too far wrong with either preparation. Hawthorn is also prepared as another form of medicine - a homoeopathic called crataegus. Hawthorn is used for the same kind of problems whether it is used as a herbal or a homoeopathic preparation.

It is preferable that Hawthorn is prescribed by a trained medical herbalist or homoeopath and the dog is monitored by that practitioner as well as by the vet. Although hawthorn is a safe herb in itself, it can enhance the performance of some veterinary heart drugs. I strongly suggest not buying hawthorn over the counter without consulting a trained medical herbalist.

Hawthorn acts on the heart muscle and is considered a heart strengthener and tonic. No matter the heart problem, hawthorn is also considered by the practitioner as the central, if not only herb or homoeopathic to use. I have found it fantastic to use when there is a racing irregular heart beat or palpitations. I use it when an ageing dog is showing signs of a weakening heart and when there is any kind of heart problem at all.

There are other herbs and homoeopathics which have their place in the treatment of heart disease, but these need all to be properly prescribed as well, never bought across the counter.