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by spartshep on 29 January 2008 - 07:01
You have legitimate concerns here with the cardiac arrhythmias...they can be life threatening. These are all due to the electrolyte imbalance your dog has. A potassium of 6.0 is far too high and will cause lethal cardiac arrhythmia if not treated. The kidneys are not filtering properly, but the issue is what is causing the kidneys to fail and these imbalances...could be anything from simple dehydration to Addison's, as was pointed out earlier. In my opinion, you need to be seeing a specialist, either cardiac or endocrine to rule out the causes of this. I don't know where you are from, but Cornell University, Michigan State University or Colorado State are a few choices here. I wish you all the best.
Constance Krebs, RN
Spartanville shepherds
www.spartanville.com
by gsdlvr2 on 29 January 2008 - 21:01
Ashah- sorry I didn't get back sooner. Yes, I was referring to the ECG because I did not understand what you meant by "wandering heartbeat" but you have cleared that up by explaining that you meant wandering pacemaker. It sounds like you may have more than one unrelated problem going on at the same time:
1. potential enlarged heart
2. wandering pacemaker- may or may not be related to the enlarged heart, if it is enlarged. It didn't sound conclusive when you first posted.
3. lab values that are somewhat abnormal
4. a dog who collapsed- why?
First of all, you should see a cardiologist that is a good idea. That being said a wandering pacemaker is not usually serious.It is not the type of arrythmia associated with the words "drop dead at any moment". All it means is that the impulse to generate a heartbeat wanders around from place to place in the atria. Atrial arrythmias are not generally associated with life threatening emergencies. It is not impossible though and could have caused the dog's collapse.
I would be concerned about an enlarged heart if it is indeed present, a cardiologist needs to do further tests to make sure it is pumping enough volume. If it is only slightly to moderately enlarged it probably won't be a big problem.
Abnormal lab values. If what you mean the potassium is 6 and over the top at 5.8 is that 5.8 is high normal for a dog than 6 is only slightly elevated. I can't help but think some of this is diet related.
JMO and so sorry your pup is sick.
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