Early diagnosis can help your dog fight heart disease. A heart murmur adds an extra sound to a heartbeat — introducing a whooshing noise that your veterinarian can hear when they listen to your dog’s heart. Heart murmurs are graded on a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 being mild, and 5 being very loud and easily detected.
Understanding Heart Murmurs
It’s important to understand that most heart murmurs are caught at wellness exams. “Early diagnosis helps us intervene while there’s still something we can do about it, whether it’s a puppy with a congenital problem, or an older dog with a new murmur,” says Erin Corrigan, medical director at VCA Fairmount Animal Hospital in Syracuse, New York.
There are two broad categories of heart murmurs in dogs: A congenital murmur is present from birth, while an acquired murmur becomes apparent later in life. Acquired murmurs are usually due to heart valve abnormalities or cardiac muscle disease.
Monitoring and Management
If your veterinarian tells you that they hear a heart murmur, they will likely recommend an echocardiogram to confirm the diagnosis and establish baseline cardiac function. Repeating the echocardiogram annually is a good way to monitor progression. A simple blood test, called pro-BNP, is a useful tool for monitoring as well.
For more on this story, see Pic de morsures de tiques en 2026 : le Midwest dépasse déjà les records de 2025.
By the time you see visible signs of a heart problem — difficulty breathing, rapid breathing, coughing, weakness, lethargy, exercise intolerance and collapsing — your dog may have heart disease.
Managing Cardiac Health
A dog’s normal respiratory rate is 15 to 30 breaths per minute. When a dog is relaxed or sleeping, rates above 35 breaths per minute signify heart problems and warrant an immediate trip to the veterinarian. You can support your dog’s long-term cardiac health by managing their weight, as obesity makes it harder to breathe, which strains the heart.
Find more reporting in our Affaires section.
