Grade 1 heart murmur

[Aria20]

Hi my 2yo spaniel had her annual vet check and boosters and the vet said he could hear a grade 1 heart murmur - this hasn't been picked up before. Other than an ear infection she's been very healthy and no other vet trips. She had been more quiet and sleepy, eating less the last week or so but I put it down to the hot weather.

We have insurance but im worrying now it's not going to be good enough cover - the vet said don't change now as this will be a pre existing condition even though no action is being taken at the moment. We carry on as we have been and go back in 3 months for another check and if at that point it's got worse they will do heart scan and tests. He said not to worry.... obviously I am worried! Can anyone whose dog had a grade 1 heart murmur offer any advice/reassurance or tell me how their dog managed/how long before it progressed etc?

Our 3 year old dog has a grade 1 heart murmur. Grade 1 means it's very mild. So much that not all vets pick up in it when they listen to her heart.

It doesn't affect her at all. She runs like a comet and no more tired than expected.

One get went in about a referral to a cardiologist for extra tests. We said no thank you. Another vet at another practice told us that was ridiculous for a grade 1 murmur.

@vivainsomnia thank you so much for the reassurance. How often do you get it checked? Have you had any issues with insurance due to it?

It’s taken 8 years for our dogs murmur to progress to grade 5. She is not yet in heart failure just slowing and slightly out of breath. Only now are we being advised 6 month heart scans

@outofmydepth2 how old is your dog now and how has it affected them over the years and have you had any issues with insurance?

@Aria20 she is very nearly 10 which is elderly for her breed. No issues until the last few months she is just starting to struggle to walk far without breaks and the heat isn’t good. We had to give up insurance for other health reason they increase the monthly cost to £145 which we couldn’t afford!

My dog had a heart murmur that required medication he was about 8 at the time. we used the rest of the years insurance purchasing it from the vet. At renewal they refused to continue to fund it so we got a prescription from the vet and bought it from an online chemist which was significantly cheaper.

@outofmydepth2 that's good to know it hasn't really bothered her for 8 years!

@autieawesome annoying about insurance and this is my concern! X

Yeah he had a few health issues never got reinsured

My dog has had a grade 1/2 heart murmur since she was about 18 months old. She turns 13 in August and it's never progressed any further.

Try not to worry. Slight heart murmurs get diagnosed quite a lot. I've had cases in dogs I have adopted where it is mentioned by one vet and never found again by another vet, where it is low grade and stays that way, where is it low grade and does progress over the years to eventual heart failure... see what I mean... it is a "diagnosis" that is slightly subjective and can lead to something or nothing. The important thing is that you are aware of it and can watch for signs of exertion, breathing difficulties or coughing. Try not to ruin what could be years and years by worrying now x

My dog, now nine, has a grade four murmur. She was scanned as a puppy and has aortic stenosis, when she was a little pup the vet thought she might not live beyond four, and she was on drugs for a while to cap her heart rate. We were warned that she might pass out if running around a lot, but that has never happened. She had another scan a year ago and actually it hasn’t got any worse in that time. Apart from needing extra care when having a GA, which she has needed a few times, it hasn’t caused her any problems at all yet.
The prognosis more recently was that she might gradually go into heart failure as an older dog, no signs yet though.
She has no obvious issues from it at all. We didn’t ever over exercise her (no five hour walks etc), just in case, as the worry was that might make the stenosis worse, but she has always had a normal level of walks and belting around with other dogs. I would rather a happy dog with a shorter life than one never allowed to run about.
So a grade 1 wouldn’t worry me much. Having a scan might be sensible though, so you know what the issue is.

@DforDogWoof she has had a slight cough the past week or so - not constant but if she's had a big drink or after eating sometimes. I guess I'll just have to keep an eye on it.

Yes, just be aware. Usually the cough will be on exertion and can sound similar to kennel cough but yeah, like you say, keep an eye.

@DforDogWoof yes it sounded similar to kennel cough. Hmmm. Well I can't do anything else in the meantime until she's checked again in September.