I need to get as much information as i can about irregular heart beats in cats. I have just taken my new furbaby ben to the vets to register him and she found that he has an irregular heart beat and he needs to go for and ultra sound, ecg, chest x-ray and a full blood works. I cant believe that this is happening as i lost my babybear on the 11 sept to heart diesease and if i had of found this in him then he still would be here so im damn sure that im not going to make the same mistake twice, Ben will have everything possible to help him live a long and happy life. So if anybody knows anything about it please can you let me know!!!!

thanks

Take him to see a cartilogist, one capable of performing heart surgery if necessary. The surgery my Hannibal would have needed is here, http://www.thepetcenter.com/sur/sa.html , but there was no vet in my area available to immediately perform the surgery, and we lost him. His prior vet visits also failed to detect the disease before it was too late, so you are very fortunate in that regard.

Additional info: http://www.fabcats.org/hcm.html

agreed with the specialist, they can help most. might not be heart disease. but if so, because your other pet died of heart disease you may want to
share that with the cardiologist to determine if it is coincidence or environmental.

I can't claim to be an expert, but I did a bit of poking around on the Internet.
Don't panic, but do act quickly in getting him his heart check-up.
Irregular heartbeat is not necessarily a crisis. Remember that Ben was
probably a bit stressed at going to the vet, especially after moving into a
new home. There's a nice webpage here:

http://www.burnhamparkvet.com/showpracfaq....D=170&Private=0

However, you'll want to act on the chance that there is something wrong, and
get the check-up as soon as possible. Try to keep Ben relaxed: avoid stressful
situations, and if he's an indoor/outdoor cat you might want to keep him in.
Heart disease in cats is often undetected, and onset of problems can be rapid.
However, a lot of conditions seem to be treatable through medication or surgery.

He doesn't have any other problems that you've noticed, right? I remember your
posts about him, and by your description he seemed quite healthy. Catching a heart
problem before any other symptoms appear (difficulty breathing, weakness, etc.)
can make a lot of difference.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) appears to be the most common form of heart
disease in cats, but that isn't necessarily what Ben has. The condition is
genetic. There's a friendly web page here:

http://www.portlandvetspecialists.com/libr...rtdisease4.html

On Feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy:
http://members.aol.com/jchinitz/hcm/

Here's a narrative page:
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_...132/ai_57797573

Here are some general tips on heart health:
http://petcaretips.net/feline_heart_disease.html

Another HCM page
http://www.cpvh.com/Articles/75.html

Finally, there's an online "Ask a Vet" service here, for $9.95 a question.
If you're looking for information or reassurance before Ben's check-up,
you might be able to get it here.

Remember, even if Ben is sick, I think you've caught the problem before clinical
symptoms had a chance to set in. By discovering it so soon and having it looked
into, you're giving him his best chance at a long and happy life. Good luck!

-Sarah

Thank you all for the replys, I have given the vet a form to fill out today for the insurance company, they will let me know in 72 hours what im covered for so i can start planning his treatment and if im not covered find where to get the money from. He is full of life at the moment, i havent let him out yet because i want to get this all sorted out first. But otherwise he is healthy i had a chat with the nurse when i dropped off the form and she said by the look of the notes the vet made it seems that if it is going to be a problem then we have caught it in time, so he will get the treatment he needs no matter what. This morning all he wanted to do was play and cuddle, he hasnt been sick for a week so im thinking that maybe down to being nervous of his new surroundings and i have been checking his breathing and its normal as it should be. just to look at him and play with him you wouldnt think he had anything wrong with him. The vet did say that maybe he was born with it!!! All i know is im doing everything i can for him because he is the sweetist boy so gentle. we will both get though this

i found out today that the insurance company will pay for all the tests ben needs so he is booked in on wednesday morning for ecg and chest xray. then he might have to be refered for a ultrasound. at last we can finially get moving with getting him the treatment he needs its taking me three weeks to get the insurance company and the vets to agree on what is needed. wish us luck ******x

I wish you the best of luck. I'll hold you in my thoughts and prayers.

-Sarah

just to keep you all updated, the results from the egc and chest xray showed that he has an enlarged heart and that one of the chambers is beating the wrong way which means the blood flow is going through the wrong way so we are seeing the cardologist on friday morning to have an ultrasound she should be able to tell me what medication he needs