Cat with high pro BNP?

[OdeToBarney]

Has anyone got any experience of a cat with high Pro BNP please?

It was noted a year ago that DCat had a grade 1 heart murmur. It was decided to watch and wait. However, this year it is now a Grade 2, so we went ahead with a blood test. The vet called yesterday to say that liver, kidney and thyroid function is all fine, however his Pro BNP is high. She didn't say how high.

We haven't noticed any panting/heavy breathing, but he has been drinking and urinating more. I thought it was possibly his kidneys, hence the blood tests.

The vet has suggested an echocardiogram and we're waiting for her to come back with a recommendation as to which "level" to go with. He is insured, so cost isn't a consideration and we will go with whatever is recommended. TBH we would anyway, regardless of insurance.

From my reading, it looks as if there can't really be any other outcome than a heart problem, whether that is something structural or heart failure.

I'm so upset, especially as I feel he hasn't had a good year with the arrival of DD last April. She adores him but the feeling is definitely not mutual 😔

He's 13 in April.

I guess I'm just wondering what to expect?

Find out how high but the recommendation is murmur + raised proBNP = scan. A first opinion vet should be able to look for 2 things - is he currently in or heading towards heart failure (in which case start meds) or does he have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (thickened heart muscle) in which case the main risk is a embolism (clot) and anti-thrombotic medication reduces the risk. A specialist scan will use Doppler and measure pressures across valves and give you a more precise diagnosis but really the info you want is does he need meds now to reduce risk of complications later.

Thank you @Patchworksack that's really helpful. If it is heart failure, how long can we expect him to have good quality of life, or is there really no way of knowing? The vet mentioned the top tier scan would be performed by a cardiac specialist, if we went with that option. Will he need to be seated and could that be risky? He's not overly aggressive at the vets, but isn't a puddle cat either. He spends most of the time trying to get back into his box!

I have a cat with HCM, she saw a specialist cardiologist. She was never sedated for scans. And the cardiologist said it was unusual to need sedating. My girl had a really good quality of life. You'd have never known she was so unwell as she was completely asymptomatic. She actually died from kidney failure, probably due to the diuretics she was on for her heart, 9 months after diagnosis. But they were a good nine months for her.

If you are anywhere near the East Midlands/ Staffordshire/ Cheshire I can recommend a good cardiologist.

Thanks @Toddlerteaplease I think I came across some old threads you featured on when I was looking the night before last. Unfortunately we're in Surrey. The vet called today and they're booking him in with the cardiac specialist ASAP, but it may be another couple of weeks yet as the vet thinks they come at the beginning of each month. I'm worried this is too long and we're wasting time he could be on medication?

I've been on many threads. I have very troublesome cats!! Can you ring the cardiologist and say you are really anxious and see if you can get in sooner. I did that when it turned out the vet, had made a mistake with my appointment. I was recommended another cardiologist, so rang them up and they were amazing.

Hope you've got good insurance. A scan was about £600 a visit. My cat's medication was about £60 a month.

Sorry to hear that @Toddlerteaplease. Yes, we've got Pet Plan cover for life. Apparently the scan is around £320 and another £280 if he needs sedating. But we do have £125 excess plus we have to cover 20% of the bills. I made sure this one was insured after previous DCat (who DH had before we met) wasn't, and ended up on £200 worth of medication a month for about 3 years!

I think I will speak to them on Monday about seeing the cardiologist sooner. If there's anything that can be done sooner that might help, I want it done now.

That seems very cheap.

@Toddlerteaplease I guess we just see what they say and get a second opinion if we're not happy?

Just coming back to say DCat has sadly been diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy today. The wall of the heart was measuring 9mm, which I am told is severe and the left side of the heart is also significantly enlarged. He's been started on clopidogrel and luckily took the tablet in his wet food tonight. Thank goodness he's a greedy boy, as I wouldn't be tableting him.

I'm so sad. I know this will only go one way, I just wish we knew how long he has or at what point we consider PTS. I know to keep an eye on his resp rate.

Does anyone know if there's anything else we should be doing? They couldn't get a BP measurement today, so that's been rebooked for 16th, plus a urine test (although kidney function appeared fine according to bloods).

😔

@Toddlerteaplease I know it's been a while since I started this thread, but I'm hoping you'll see this.

I remembered that your kitty had HCM, but it was the kidneys that became the real problem in the end. Can I ask what the symptoms were, please? DCat has been vomiting, not eating, barely drinking, and very lethargic. Had an anti sickness injection this afternoon, but he's no better. He's hiding away and looks so sad. I can't speak to the cardiologist until the morning, and I'm not happy with how he is presenting. His repeat echo last week showed significant worsening of the HCM with a new cardiac emboli and "smoke" 😞

@OdeToBarney her main symptom was weight loss over a few months. And she was weeing outside the litter tray. But because it didn't smell. I didn't really notice it. I kept getting occasional whiffs of wee. But not until I came back from holiday did I discover she'd been using the door mat.
In the last few days she was curling up
In corners. Something she'd never done.
I don't recall any vomiting.
She'd been loosing weight slowly. But it accelerated when the cardiologist doubled her frusemide.

To be honest. It sounds like it's time. I looked at her the night she had bloods done. And I just knew it was time. The light had gone from her eyes.

Thanks @Toddlerteaplease. The vomiting started last night and has subsided somewhat, but he just won't eat. As you say, it looks as if the light has gone from his eyes. He's lost 200g in a week. I'm so sad.

@OdeToBarney that's what Maia did. The weight just fell off her. I took her to the cattery, and when I picked her up, she'd lost 500g. She knew and loved the cattery and its staff. So I knew that that wasn't the issue. Didn't realise how ill she was until til I saw the photos they'd taken.