Barry -Plaque Attack & Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Status
Not open for further replies.
L

Lylene & Barry

Active Member
Hello everyone. It's been a while since we've been on this forum. Barry went OTJ 10/23/09 so we weren't around FDMB for a while. In July 2011 we adopted Paisley, who is diabetic and on Lantus. She's a work in progress and drama queen extraordinaire.

So we're back with some questions......

When I took Barry in for his dental he was diagnosed with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and the cardiologist said he is "NOT OK" for anesthesia. He had blood work, x-rays and 2 ECG (a week apart). No heart murmur. First ECG findings - HR was 190bpm, Rhythm Sinus with many VPCs. His activity level is restricted so he's taken up marathon napping. He specializes in sunshine napping. Low sodium diet. He was also prescribed baby aspirin (81mg), 1 tablet every 72 hours for life. Unfortunately, his teeth are still an issue that can cause many problems long-term.

I was wondering if anyone has used Plaque Attack. I found it on the FD shopping page and looked into it a bit. The link on that page is broken and I did let Rebecca know. The link is https://www.getplaqueattack.com/Index.dtm It looks good and, if it really does work, would save a lot of money and, more importantly, the risk of problems from anesthesia. We have six cats - 2 diabetic (1 OTJ), 1 with renal issues, and 3 who are just along for the ride. For anyone who takes a look at the website, how does it look to you?

Question about the HCM....Does the aspirin look ok? I'm concerned about using baby aspirin given the unnecessary ingredients and it seems that the 81mg adult aspirin would be more appropriate. I was also wondering if giving 1/3 of a tablet each day would be better that a full tablet every three days. Our drooler who just passed away had an episode where he was bleeding from his nose for almost 5 days after aspirin was stopped before his body was able to produce what it needed to stop the bleeding. So that's why the aspirin causes me concern. Barry seems fine. No coughing or breathing problems. I wanted to get some feedback before I talk to the vet again.

Thanks everyone and have a good evening.
 
Maggie had HCM. She got a baby aspirin twice a week with no bleeding problems. I think your vet might have used the term baby aspirin to indicate low-dose aspirin, which are 81mg.
 
Hi, Lylene. Congrats on your "new" FD. So sorry that Barry had been diagnosed with HCM. Beau was dx with that when he was 3 and given a max of 5 yrs prognosis. He just turned 13 a few months ago. He has been on diltiazem since diagnosis. It is a calcium channel blocker and helps his heart to not have to beat as hard (it relaxes the blood vessels). Calcium channel blockers also help to treat high blood pressure which is something you want to avoid with any heart disease. He gets a tiny maintenance dose once a day. He has never been on aspirin.

I would encourage you to speak to a vet cardiologist, a specialist, as I wonder if aspirin is the best treatment long term. All it does is thin the blood and doesn't help the heart muscle to function better as other meds can.

I don't know anything about the Plaque Attack ( never heard of it). The options for managing dental plaque issues with a cat that cannot undergo anesthesia are to use pulse antibiotics (short course of ABs every 4-6 weeks) to minimize infections and bacteria getting into the blood stream or to give very light "puffs" of anesthesia to barely keep them under. That is something that I would ask a cardiologist about before considering and also the skill level of whomever is doing the anesthesia for the dental. My vets use that technique for cats with renal issues that would make regular anesthesia too risky.
 
Finding a vet cardiologist will be difficult, as Lylene and Barry live in Northern Michigan (Upper Peninsula)

My understanding is that aspirin can only be given to cats 1x per 3 days to let the toxins clear the liver.
 
Hi, Phoebe. I was thinking with the tests results she could just talk to a vet cardio specialist maybe at one of the MI vet schools. That's what I meant by "speak to", but I guess I wasn't clear on that. Maybe find someone willing to look over the EKG readings, etc. Or maybe there is someone in the Traverse City Area. Just a thought.
 
Merlyn had HCM with severe left atrial enlargement..he also didnt have a murmur. It was diagnosed on Xray taken when he was plugged up with poo.

When I mentioned to Jess & Earl about Merlyns aspirin, she felt that Plavix would have been better..but I did do the baby aspirin for Merlyn. We did dose every day, but the vet had me dissolve the uncoated aspirin in water and then use the dilution every day.

You might want to shoot Jess a PM, she works for a veterinary cardiologist. Not sure how swamped she is..she posts periodically.

Some great sites:
http://www.newmanveterinary.com/felhcm.html
http://maxshouse.com/hypertrophic_cardiomyopathy.htm
http://www.2ndchance.info/cardiomyopathy-cat.htm

The Plaque Attack contains some essential oils that would worry me a lot.. this is the ingredients list:
https://www.getplaqueattack.com/ingredients.html
this is a list of essential oils that are toxic /can be toxic to cats
http://essentialoilworld.com/essentialoilreviews/pet-health/essential-oil-safety-with-cats

Merlyn was also a big NO for anesthesia post HCM dx, and I was using Oxyfresh Pet Gel, which kills anaerobic bacteria-not going to help major issues but did help a bit. I just put it on the outer teeth with a q-tip, and then on alternating days use CET toothpaste. I worried because he did have a history of FORLs.

Anyway, Merlyn lived with kidney disease and HCM (diabetes in remission) post dx for 2.5 yrs..
Sending many cyber hugs for Barry, and Paisley too.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top