Should I be worried with this very low heart rate?

honeybears · Super Senior Member Plus Joined: 19 Mar 2004 Posts: 3630

jake had his senior checkup yesterday and 2 alarming things came out of it. 1, he has lost 10#. he has not been on a diet is the very stocky lab, so I hadnt noticed it was that much,

I did notioce, he was getting thinner around his flanks, A strange place to lose weight. he is still very heavy around the rib and neck. The vet rechecked his weight since that was a red flag.

What is more alarming to me is his low heart rate. Last time he was checked He weighed 103 and his heart rate was 118.

Now he weighs 93 and his heart rate is 63, like a beat a second. regular should be minumim 83. She was very concerned but said just for us to keep checking to make sure it doesnt drop more

His blood work comes back this afternoon. So I will know more, but should I be asking for an Xray. things I have read point to heart problems with low hear rate.

Sara · Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2007 12:08 am Post subject:

An X-ray will not really show a heart problem if one exists. I do know that Geriatric animals tend to lose muscle with age, it just happens which could be part of the problem.

I think the bloodwork your vet did is probably right on track. To check out his heart you'd have to have it viewed in a way that can see soft tissue, x-rays do not do that. Once you get your bloodwork back if your vet is still at a loss I would ask about a possible heart problem and see what she thinks as far as screening for it goes and the likelyhood of it...

I do hope all is well though...he may just need a different bit of stuff in his diet since he's an older guy... Do keep us updated!

Sara

honeybears · Super Senior Member Plus Joined: 19 Mar 2004 Posts: 3630

well good news and bad news, his blookwork all came out weight loss. bad news no cause of the heart which didnt surprise me since I dont think anything heart related would have shown up, except high cholesteral that could be heart related.

He is on a raw diet, chicken bones, beef heart and beef. I had been suppelementing him with an immune blend, but he not been on it for about a month, wondering something like that ingredient wise culd be the cause.

he is more active I think because of his weight loss. the vet is kind of baffled, because with a low heart rate you should see lethargy, weight gain, and he is the opposite.

We just came back from a walk and I checked his heart rate and it was 83, so just minimum normal with him being exerted.

DeLaUK · Posted: Sun Apr 08, 2007 8:04 pm Post subject:

Hiya honeybears, just a thought, i agree with Sara on the loss of muscle mass, part of the aging process (although other things can cause it) on the heart though if your concernced then you could ask for a full work up which should include ultrasound, ekg and xrays, as Sara said the xrays wont show why the heart is not pumping as it should but they would be able to see if there is any changes in the size of the heart.

Some places can do MRI's also but then your talking big bucks.

honeybears · Super Senior Member Plus Joined: 19 Mar 2004 Posts: 3630

Well now I am freaking out becaus they said for to check him regularly if there is a change. I tested him 4 times this morning and got 44 ea chtime Shocked

. And it sounds irregular. I am waiting for a callback from the vet.

Do you know anything about Lyme? That is one thing I read that an cause heart problems and that wasnt part of the test. I have pulled a few ticks off of him