Heart attack in a cat: symptoms, diagnosis, treatment

Heart disease in an animal is always difficult to predict. Pets are not people; they cannot tell if they are experiencing chest pain. That's why so many mustachioed friends die from heart disease. Heart attacks in cats most often occur suddenly, so it is important for the owner to know what the symptoms and causes of this disease are, as well as how to treat it.

Veterinarians note that myocardial infarction is very rare in felines, but this does not diminish its health hazard. It is caused by the death of a section of the pet's heart muscle. This provokes severe dysfunction in the functioning of a vital organ. Without medical intervention, the animal will soon die.

Causes of a heart attack in a cat

As a rule, such reasons are associated with other diseases in the cat:

Various congenital heart defects. The main anomalies leading to a heart attack are associated with pathology of the valvular apparatus of the heart.
Heart rhythm disturbances.
Genetically determined diseases of the vascular bed.
Vasculitis is an inflammatory disease of blood vessels. A smaller amount of blood arrives from inflamed vessels to the myocardium. This leads to disruption of the nutrition of cardiomyocytes. Heart muscle cells cannot tolerate prolonged hypoxia. Ischemia of the cardiac muscle tissue occurs quickly.
As an animal ages, changes in the structure of the myocardium may occur, which can also cause a cat to have a heart attack.
Infection of a cat with helminths and blockage of blood vessels by them.
If there was a blood clot somewhere in the pet’s vascular bed, it broke off and blocked the coronary artery - myocardial infarction is inevitable.
Blockage of the arteries supplying the heart by emboli (an air bubble in the blood or a fat drop) will also lead to the death of myocytes.
Diseases of the endocrine system (diabetes mellitus, hyperthyroidism) contribute to the occurrence of a heart attack.
Infectious diseases in cats contribute to heart attacks. Especially if they are chronic.
Loss of large amounts of blood, leading to severe anemia. In such a situation, myocardial trophism sharply worsens.
Poisoning with pesticides, heavy metals and FOS also has a detrimental effect on the heart.
Malnutrition of the cat, due to which plaques are deposited on the vessels.
Chronic stressful situations.

Attention!
A fat cat with cheeks is a cute sight. But everything should be in moderation. You should not overfeed your cat if you do not want to get serious health problems in the future.

Stress-induced feline cardiomyopathy

This form of cardiomyopathy develops in completely healthy cats after exposure to a stress factor. Most often this occurs within 1-30 days after planned surgical interventions (castration and sterilization). The disease is characterized by temporary thickening of the myocardium of the left ventricle, probably due to inflammation of the heart muscle, the relaxation processes of the heart are disrupted, which leads to the fact that the left ventricle is not able to pump out all the blood from the pulmonary circulation. The pressure in the pulmonary veins and left atrium increases and congestive heart failure develops, which manifests itself in the form of pulmonary edema or hydrothorax.

Symptoms: When should you worry?

Not all cats are prone to coronary heart disease.
Most often, it affects cats that lead a sedentary lifestyle and love to eat a lot. Therefore, even if the cat lives in an apartment with little space, you need to play with it a lot so that it develops physically. Forays outside will also be useful.

You also shouldn't keep your cat stressed all the time. Animals really don’t like changing homes or owners. For them, just like for people, losing a loved one or furry friend is scary.

Care and nutrition

After returning home, the animal should rest more time and move less.
The success of therapy depends not only on the recommendations of the veterinarian and prescribed medications, but also on the owner who will care for the pet at home. After the heart attack has been suffered, the cat will need to create conditions of complete rest. The animal is sent to a quiet and dark room where it will not be disturbed by other pets or children. It is important to protect the cat from stressful situations. In addition, owners should ensure that the cat's activity is limited.

Veterinarian Andrei Gennadievich Komolov recommends walking the animal on the street, where the environment is calm and familiar. Walks should be short so that the animal does not get tired. In addition, you will definitely need to change the cat's diet. The menu includes foods that are easily digestible. It is forbidden to give cats fatty foods; it is better to avoid using dry food, which is sold in stores. The diet is enriched with fermented milk products.

If the kitten is small, it is acceptable to give it milk. For older animals, low-fat cottage cheese and sour cream are suitable. In addition, it is allowed to feed cats fish, but in limited quantities. Lean types of meat - chicken, beef - will be useful. You can add cereals to your diet, such as rice and buckwheat. You will need to cook them in weak broth or water. It is forbidden to give pets fatty meats, smoked meats, and sweet foods. If the veterinarian allows it, it is permissible to give the animal easily digestible complementary foods.

When should an owner worry that something bad has happened to his pet?

Clinical symptoms of myocardial infarction in a cat:

The cat becomes excited and nervous. She rushes from corner to corner.
Due to severe pain, the cat meows loudly and constantly. Sometimes even her usual “meow” is more like just a heart-rending scream.
The pupils become sharply dilated even during daylight hours.
The purr loses its appetite.
Shortness of breath appears.
The cat starts coughing.
The cat begins to limp on the left side due to severe pain.
If you try to listen to your pet's heart, it will pound. This phenomenon is called tachycardia.
The mucous membranes become pale or even bluish.

Important!
If the slightest signs described above appear, you need to immediately take your cat to a veterinary clinic!

Symptoms of heart problems

How can you even understand that your pet has some kind of heart problem?
The problem is that cats are notorious couch potatoes. And if “problems” in the behavior of the same dogs quickly become obvious during regular walks, a cat’s illness can remain completely unnoticed for a long time. However, you may notice that your pet has become more “lazy” and tries not to move unless absolutely necessary. If the cat “deigns” to walk to the bowl, it is not difficult to notice that such a simple action was not easy for him: the animal begins to choke, wheeze and cough.

It is no coincidence that veterinarians consider early diagnosis of heart pathologies in cats to be a difficult and thankless task. Often there are no clinical signs at all. Until the pet’s body passes some “critical point”, after which the symptoms begin to increase exponentially.

As for the characteristic signs of cardiac pathologies, these include:

difficulty breathing; wheezing;
severe shortness of breath that occurs even after light physical exertion;
in severe cases (even without a phonendoscope), you can hear something gurgling and bubbling noisily in your pet’s chest. These are very alarming signs indicating the presence of profuse effusion in the chest cavity. The fluid compresses the lungs and heart, causing all the breathing problems described above to develop;
severe hypothermia of the limbs and other parts of the body (for example, ears and paws);
paleness of all visible mucous membranes (gums and eyes). All this indicates a serious deterioration in blood circulation in the animal’s body;
in severe cases (often when the cat is already dying), the skin over the entire surface of the body becomes cold.

Note that coughing with heart disease is not typical for cats. This sign is more often observed in sick dogs. It is highly likely that in cases where your cat is coughing uncontrollably and panting heavily, the heart has nothing to do with it. Most likely, we are talking about bronchitis or other lung diseases.

Diagnosis of myocardial infarction

A veterinary doctor can start thinking about myocardial infarction as soon as he sees the animal, since the symptoms are quite vivid and characteristic.
Thanks to instrumental diagnostic methods (echocardiography, electrocardiography), the veterinarian will carry out a differential diagnosis of a heart attack with other heart diseases that can cause similar symptoms, and will also check for brain diseases.

These are pathologies such as inflammatory diseases of the membranes of the walls of the heart (endocarditis, myocarditis, pericarditis, pancarditis), myocardosis, and various types of cardiomyopathy.

The distinctive features of a heart attack from any other heart disease on the ECG are:

Pathological ST segment elevation.
The growth of the Q wave is the main wave indicating the process of ischemia.
Signs of bundle branch block appear.

An ultrasound can show interruptions in the functioning of the affected chamber of the heart (right and left ventricle).

Causes and types of disease

The factors that provoke myocardial infarction in cats are very diverse. Disturbances in the functioning of cardiac muscle tissue can be caused by congenital or acquired causes. In this regard, they talk about four types of pathology:

Transmural subtype
characterized by widespread damage to the myocardial muscle.
Intramural type
affects the thickness of the walls of the ventricle located on the left side, without affecting the endocardium.
Subendocardial type
aimed at a narrow line in the area of the left ventricle.
Subepicardial view
characterized by lesions near the epicardium.

Depending on the size of the affected area, the lesions are large-focal and small-focal.

The ancestors of the domestic pet, like their closest relatives, always tried to hunt from ambush. It was unusual for them to pursue prey for a long time. Because if a representative of the cat family experiences prolonged physical activity, he develops tachycardia. The same applies to a domestic cat, therefore, if he plays too much, the volume of blood in the circulatory system becomes less. This further leads to a decrease in pressure, and in advanced cases, to cell death.

Poor myocardial function occurs in juveniles and adults. The former suffer from pathologies in the cardiovascular system due to congenital problems during the intrauterine development of atrioventricular organs and disorders in the blood vessels. Aging cats are susceptible to defects acquired with age that provoke necrosis of the myocardium.

There are a number of additional factors that cause heart attacks in cats:

Inflammation occurring in blood vessels. Vasculitis occurs systematically and appears due to processes of an autoimmune nature. Changes in the vascular walls lead to severe changes in metabolism and push towards the development of an acute form of the disease.
Thromboembolism is blockage of the lumen in a vessel by foreign bodies: cells of a malignant or benign tumor, parasites, blood clots, air bubbles due to poorly performed surgery or when drugs are administered intravenously.
Problems with the endocrine system. The cause of a heart attack in cats can be diabetes mellitus, as well as abnormally high secretion of hormones by the thyroid gland.
Chronic diseases of the lungs and heart.
Infection with pathogenic fungi or harmful microorganisms. For example, necrosis can be provoked by purulent inflammations - pyometra, pyelonephritis, glomerulonephritis.
Bleeding due to surgery or injury that leads to irreversible damage to the cardiovascular system.
Increased pressure inside the arteries leads to overload in the myocardium, provoking the onset of a destructive process.
Poisoning with toxic substances: salts of heavy metals, phosphorus-containing substances, poisons. This affects the functioning of all internal organs.

The reasons that cause the development of a heart attack in a cat can indirectly include the animal’s light physical activity and a sluggish lifestyle. Excess weight also has a bad effect on the oxygen supply to muscles.

Emotional stress and stress have a negative impact on your pet’s health.

With an incorrect diet, a deficiency of an important amino acid occurs. A poor supply of taurine leads to the formation of cholesterol plaques.

However, cats rarely suffer from such severe disorders, which lead to thickening of the vascular walls. Often, even elderly individuals retain the heart muscle in good condition. In most reported cases, such a pathology is an irreversible congenital defect.

Treatment of myocardial infarction in cats

Attention!
The only help that will be useful for a cat with a developing heart attack from the owner is to provide complete rest and safe transport to a veterinary clinic. Other attempts to do anything to the animal may result in its death.

A veterinarian or veterinary cardiologist prescribes the following therapy:

The first thing to do is relieve pain. For this purpose, ketofen, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug manufactured for use in veterinary medicine, is widely used;
To improve heart function, nitroglycerin and its closest analogues are prescribed.
To prevent thrombosis, antiplatelet agents and anticoagulants are used.
To improve the rheological properties of blood, it is important to remove excess fluid. For this purpose, various diuretics are prescribed.
To calm the animal after suffering stress, it is necessary to give sedatives. An inexpensive and effective representative are Kot Bayun drops. It is made on the basis of herbal ingredients, so it rarely causes severe adverse reactions and allergies.
To help the functioning of the surviving cardiomyocytes, the cat should be given the vitamins and minerals that the heart needs (vitamin B6, potassium, magnesium and others).

In the post-infarction period, the cat needs to be provided with complete rest, care, proper nutrition, fresh air and its own shelter, where it can hide and be alone.
You can include kefir, yoghurt, and sugar-free milk porridge in your cat’s diet. Baby food is good for feeding a cat. You can give both infant formula and pureed meat with vegetables.

Among industrial feeds, it is better to give preference to premium feed lines. Dry food can be given only of high quality, purchased from a veterinary pharmacy.

Reference!
For variety, the porridge can be prepared with chicken broth. This delicacy will please the purring family member.

Treatment prescribed by a veterinarian

The veterinarian begins urgent measures to prevent an attack and its consequences immediately after an accurate diagnosis. Drug therapy for heart attacks in cats is prescribed only by a specialist. Self-medication is unacceptable, because it can have a bad effect on the general condition of your mustachioed friend.

First of all, medications are prescribed to relieve pain. Painkillers such as Ketofen and Ketonal are popular in veterinary medicine.

In case of diagnosed illness, the following are used:

drugs against blood clot formation - Heparin and Warfarin;
sedatives, sedatives - Kot Bayutn, Fospasim, Fitex;
diuretics that help remove swelling and reduce the load on organs - Furosemide, Veroshpiron;
adrenaline beta blockers, which increase myocardial function - they supply oxygen and help increase metabolic processes - Atenolol, Metoprolol, Propranolol;
complexes of vitamins C, B5, B6, B12.

At any stage of a heart attack in cats, a drip with a water-salt solution is used to help protect the body from dangerous dehydration. For this purpose, injections are given from saline or glucose solution, doing them in turn.

Severe pain syndrome rarely goes away on its own, and without adequate medical care the patient almost always dies. If the use of analgesics was timely, the discomfort in the sternum will disappear in a couple of minutes.

What are the correct living conditions for a cat that has had a heart attack?

Complete peace. There is no need to once again let children near her, pulling her tail and mustache.
Silence. A huge noisy party is not at all what an unhealthy ward craves.
Fresh air. The room where the cat lives should be well ventilated. However, drafts at home are unacceptable.
Proper nutrition.
A cat should have its own dark corner.
Stressful situations should be kept to a minimum. Let the worst thing for a cat be a trip to the veterinarian.

First aid from the owner

The first thing to do if you suspect a heart attack is to call your veterinarian. According to the symptoms described by the owner, he will recommend giving the animal Corvalol or another drug.

IMPORTANT! You should not give any medications without a doctor’s instructions, otherwise your pet’s condition will only worsen!

What to do next:

Provide the cat with complete rest - do not shift him or disturb him, do not make noise near him.
The room in which the patient is located should be well ventilated; extreme heat and stuffiness should not be allowed.
It is highly advisable to have a veterinarian come to your home. If this is not possible, ONLY use a carrier with a hard plastic bottom.
Do not give water or food to the patient; if the veterinarian recommends any medications over the phone, give them strictly in liquid form or in the form of an injection.

Remember that you can’t help anything at home, so you definitely need to show the sick person to a specialist.

What should a cat's diet be?

Industrial feed should not be of the mass market class (Kitekat, Whiskas, Felix and others). You should switch your cat to premium food (Hill's, Royal Canin, Purina Pro Plan and others) sold in veterinary pharmacies. They will be useful not only for the cat’s heart, but also for her entire body. Even dry food is unlikely to give your pet urolithiasis, the development of which is caused by cheap dry food.
No matter how compassionate a cat’s eyes may be, you should never give her treats from the master’s table. It is especially worth excluding pork, lard, fried meat and fish from the diet of your favorite animal.
Baby food is good for feeding.

Symptoms of the disease

The main symptoms characteristic of a heart attack in cats:

pain in the left paw in the elbow area, manifested in lameness;
painful chest;
a state of anxiety, excitement, often accompanied by meowing;
pallor, cyanosis of mucous membranes and skin;
dyspnea;
dilated pupils;
severe weakness that replaces excitement;
lack of appetite;
poor coordination of movements, unsteady gait;
presence of arrhythmia;
increased heart rate.

All of the above symptoms may be present at the same time. However, the presence of only some of them cannot be ruled out.

Prevention of myocardial infarction

From childhood, accustom your cat to active games. Let her run after a thread or a red dot from a laser pointer. The main thing is to let her run around as much as possible.
Proper nutrition. There is no need to make the animal become obese.
Do not expose your cat to severe chronic stress. Yes, cats are also worried about daily scandals at home, constant curses at them over trifles and beatings from their owners. If a cat eats sloppily, this does not mean that it should be physically punished immediately. After all, we can all knock over a plate or cup sometimes.
Walking in the fresh air for about 30 minutes a day has a good effect.

Preventive actions

To prevent myocardial infarction in cats, it is important for owners to provide the animal with moderate physical activity in the fresh air. If you send your pet outside or you can’t go for a walk with him, you can set up a house for your cat with toys on the balcony

Playing with cat objects increases the load on the heart, making the heart muscle stronger and less susceptible to an attack.

An important preventative measure is the hygiene of the animal and keeping its tray clean. A cat's litter box contains a variety of parasites, so it is important to clean it after each pet's bowel movement.

In addition, the owner needs to diversify the animal’s diet and include foods containing sufficient amounts of vitamins and minerals.

Veterinarians advise giving cats boiled potatoes, legumes, fish and dairy products. The animal can also obtain useful substances from vitamin-mineral complexes, which are given in the spring and autumn. You can buy them in pharmacy chains. Owners should also regularly visit a veterinarian with their cat, which will allow them to identify any pathologies of the cardiovascular system at the initial stages of development, carry out their timely treatment and prevent the development of serious complications that can even lead to death.

This is also interesting!

Among the heart diseases among the most beloved pets is heart attack. Yes, no matter how terrible it may sound, pussies also suffer from heart pathologies. And while a person, feeling pain, rushes to the hospital, where entire teams of cardiologists, therapists and the most modern equipment are at his service, his tailed friend stoically endures all health problems, without being able to complain. That's why owners who are not too attentive sometimes realize it too late, when their beloved animal is already in the complete grip of a terrible disease.

Fortunately, myocardial infarction is rare in pussies. And, nevertheless, it happens, which means it carries a mortal danger. After all, the disease leads to atrophy of the heart muscle, and without the heart life is impossible, everyone knows this. An animal sometimes dies before a person has time to understand what happened to it.

Age. Time is the most terrible enemy of all living things. As an animal ages, it undergoes hormonal changes. It is becoming increasingly difficult for organs, including the heart, to perform their functions. And physical stress contributes to even greater wear and tear on the pet’s main driving force, its heart. Therefore, there must be moderation in everything. Even if your pet is ready to actively play with you, you should not drive him too much. The physical condition of the animal no longer allows it to cope with such a load.

Diet. An incorrectly designed menu throughout the pet’s life leads to the formation of a cholesterol layer on the blood vessels. This complicates their blood supply and causes a deficiency of oxygen, which, as is known, is a symbol of life. Without it, cells die, and this is a direct path to myocardial infarction in the pussy.

Thrombus. Blood clots that form in the vessels can break off and block the flow of blood. This also leads to cellular oxygen starvation and the development of a cat’s heart attack.

Other reasons. Diseases of the vascular system, inflammation, including those of infectious origin, genetic abnormalities, and other factors can provoke myocardial infarction in a pet.

A heart attack can be primary, spontaneous and repeated, cyclical and recurrent, protracted. Possible coronary death.

pre-infarction;
the most acute stage (from a quarter of an hour to 2 hours);
acute infarction with the formation of a necrotic focus (from 2 hours to 2 weeks);
subacute period - granulation and the beginning of scarring of the necrotic lesion (from 1 to 2 months);
post-infarction

Sometimes cats experience several types of heart attack simultaneously or sequentially. Major heart attacks are rare in cats, but they are not excluded. This is a very serious condition for the animal and can cause death. There can be no talk of any self-medication.

Symptoms of heart problems

The difficulty in early detection of serious pathology of the heart muscle lies in the absence of characteristic clinical signs. In veterinary medicine, it is customary to treat a disease in stages.

The pre-infarction period is asymptomatic and only in rare cases can it manifest itself as signs of cardiovascular failure: shortness of breath, pallor or blue discoloration (cyanosis) of the mucous membranes, fatigue. The pet can breathe with an open mouth, which is unnatural for cats.

With the development of the most acute and acute stages, the clinical picture becomes more pronounced

Veterinary experts recommend that owners pay attention to the following symptoms in their furry pet:

Pain syndrome. Due to severe chest pain, which develops as a result of necrosis of a section of the heart muscle, the cat becomes restless, nervous, and aggressive. The state of excitement can be replaced by weakness and apathy. The cat screams a lot, meows, and sometimes screams heart-rendingly.
The animal's pupils are dilated.
When palpated, there is pain in the chest.
Pain and discomfort in the left side of the chest lead to lameness in the animal.
Impaired blood supply leads to pallor or a bluish tint to the visible mucous membranes (gums, mouth).
No appetite.
The animal loses orientation in space, the gait becomes uncertain and shaky. The cat lies down and reluctantly gets up.
Not only the work of the heart is disrupted, but also the lungs. The cat has shortness of breath and heavy breathing.
Arrhythmia, tachycardia.

At the subacute stage, pain disappears and symptoms fade away. The post-infarction phase is characterized by the formation of a scar and the adaptation of muscle tissue to work in conditions of decreased organ function.

Heart attack in a cat: first aid

Heart failure and cardiac arrest is one of the most dangerous conditions of the body, in which seconds count. If a cat has a heart attack, first aid includes two main actions - chest compressions and artificial respiration. Here's an algorithm on how to do it:

The cat must be laid on its side, right or left - it doesn’t matter.
One hand secures the animal behind its back.
The fingers of the second hand are located above the heart, in the region of the 4th–5th intercostal space. You can try to count this place along the ribs, or you can simply place your fingers deep under the front paw. At the same time, grasp the animal's chest so that the thumb is at the bottom and the rest at the top, or use the index, middle and ring fingers to apply pressure from above. Sometimes, in larger cats, it is possible to apply both hands (one palm on top of the other).
Next, it is necessary to perform rhythmic pressure at a speed of 100–120 times per minute, so that the chest is compressed by approximately 30% when pressed.
Apply artificial respiration every 30 compressions. To do this, you need to wrap your fingers around the animal’s muzzle and forcefully inhale air into the cat’s nose.

If the owner of a sick animal orients himself correctly and begins performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation before the veterinary service arrives, there is a chance to prevent the cat’s death from a heart attack. Unfortunately, resuscitation without timely medical assistance does not always lead to the desired result, but can give hope for salvation.

Of course, some diseases (terminal stage of the disease, heart rupture in a cat due to injury, etc.) will not allow the heart to beat again, therefore the possibility and feasibility of resuscitation of the animal, even in a clinic, should be discussed in advance with a veterinarian.

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Causes of heart failure

Congenital heart pathologies. In cats they are quite rare, occurring in approximately 2% of all cases.
Diseases of the heart muscle caused by infectious diseases.
Cardiomyopathy, which is caused by an inadequate diet in cats. They, as a rule, do not receive enough taurine, which is part of raw fish and meat. During cooking, it is destroyed.
Heartworms and their larvae are found in mosquitoes. They are microscopic in size. When a mosquito bites, their larvae enter the animal’s bloodstream and settle in the pulmonary artery. Heartworms can grow up to 30 centimeters in size. With their presence in the circulatory system, they interfere with the outflow of blood and cause enormous damage to the arteries. Adults entangle the heart, thereby interfering with its full functioning. Heartworms can be detected using a blood test.
Age-related hormonal changes. Heart failure is thought to occur in cats over 6 years of age.
Metabolic disease. Sometimes it is caused by improperly structured nutrition.

Cats should be periodically screened for heartworms to help prevent heart disease. If a taurine deficiency is noticed in a timely manner, it must be introduced into the cat’s food, due to which the vital activity of the heart muscle is restored.

Diagnosis must be carried out by a qualified veterinary cardiologist in order to prescribe the correct treatment. Typically it includes:

Blood analysis.
Analysis of urine.
Ultrasound.
Chest X-ray.
ECG.

If a cat has been diagnosed with heart failure, then it should be excluded from planning for breeding, since the hereditary factor plays an important role.