Dental Disease
Red flags: Foul breath, reluctance to eat, discolored teeth and red or purple gums.
What's wrong?: Tartar an d plaque build-up lead to bacterial infection of gums and even jaw bone. Bacteria from the infection can enter the bloodstream and harm other organs.
Treatment: In a dental cleaning under anesthesia, veterinarians fill pockets between the gums and the teeth with long-lasting antibiotic gel to fight infection at the source. To save a tooth affected by severe periodontal infection, veterinarians can apply enamel matrix protein, a natural substance that regenerates jawbone and gum attachments, around the tooth. Commercial therapeutic diets with a crunchy texture can help scrape off plaque.
Heart Failure
Red flags: Coughing (initially at night), reduced tolerance for exercise, fainting and distended abdomen.
What's wrong?: Stiff or leaky heart valves or weakening of the heart muscle itself (cardiomyopathy) makes the heart less efficient at pumping blood. This causes fluid to backflow into lungs or other vital organs, or into the abdominal cavity.
Treatment: Enalapril, a new treatment for heart failure, dilates blood vessels to decrease workload on the heart. It also decreases the dog's cough and increases its energy level. Diuretics help clear fluid from lungs. Digoxin, a drug derived from the foxglove plant, increases the contracting ability of the heart muscle. Veterinarian-prescribed beta-blockers lower blood pressure and treat abnormal heart rhythms. Commercial low-sodium diets are available to decrease water retention.
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