Hello Tanya, HCM is tough. In people it's often hereditary and treated with ACE inhibitors (like enalapril), beta blockers (sotalol, metropolol,etc.) and/or diuretics (lasix), and sometimes aspirin or other agent to inhibit blood clots. Transplants are used in certain situations.
My understanding is that with cats you can also use any of the above mentioned meds, using caution with aspirin. I think sometimes that conventional medicine is limited and natural or alternative methods can sometimes help. I found a small amount of information on it that you could maybe research or ask your vet or simply try. I'll copy and paste it here: Natural Remedy Options One of the most effective natural remedies is proper diet and exercise. <http://www.brighthub.com/health/alternative-medicine/articles/54444.aspx#>. There is no pill that cures this problem as of now but researchers and scientists are always working on towards a cure. Until then there are simple things that can be incorporated in your cat’s daily diet that will help them. There are medicines to consider to thin the blood and stop the enlargement of the heart wall. Aspirin (low doses that are safe for felines), diuretics and a beta blocker are popular for this condition. Check with your vet about the aspirins as some cats may be able to handle it but others can not! If your cat is sensitive to aspirin try Nattokinase instead. As far as the daily diet, quality foods can make the difference in your cat (quality foods not commercial foods). Commercial foods tend to have a lot of salt which can be very bad for this condition. Homemade meals are a lot better. Foods high in taurine have a positive effect as well as organic foods with broccoli and oats. Cooked liver can provide essential nutrients to help your cat feel better. When considering supplements the following have been known to support health and longevity in cats with Feline Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: • Vitamin E oil • B-Vitamins • Hawthorne berry • Dandelion leaf • Fish oil • Coenzyme Q10 If you are interested in homemade diets there are certainly individuals in this group that could recommend something. If not let me know and I'll send you something. Good luck. Jenny Read more: http://www.brighthub.com/health/alternative-medicine/articles/54444.aspx#ixzz0t7Ccfzr7 On Thu, Jul 8, 2010 at 10:08 AM, TANYA NOE <[email protected]>wrote: > Hello everyone, > It has been a while since I have been able to get on. I found out last > month that my FelV+ Maggie who turned 2 years old 16 days ago was just > diagnosed with a grade 4/6 heart murmur. She has seen many vets in her short > life and has not had a detectable one previously not even 7 months ago when > she had her bi-annual physical and blood work. I took her in for her > physical and because lately she has had some exercise intolerance that isn't > normal for a 2 year old. Her heart ultrasound gave us a diagnosis of > hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Her walls were very thick and flow greatly > reduced. We started he on Enalapril. > I was wondering if anyone else has had the same diagnosis and if so if > there was anything that worked well for your little ones. Her heart disease > is progressing very quickly and I was told that with her type there isn't > anything they can do to slow it down, we are only making her more > comfortable with the Enalapril by making her heart not have to work as hard. > Any advice is appreciated, > Tanya (Maggie's Mom) > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Felvtalk mailing list > [email protected] > http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org > _______________________________________________ Felvtalk mailing list [email protected] http://felineleukemia.org/mailman/listinfo/felvtalk_felineleukemia.org
