For Valentine’s Day
Look after your Pet’s Heart ..... Take part in our survey and enter our Draw for a Heart Shaped Computer Mouse courtesy of Novartis Animal Health!
Hearts and Valentine’s Day go together for as long as anyone can remember.
Hearts and Heart Disease are always high on a Small Animal Vet’s agenda of problems. At Abbeyfields Vets in Rocester, along with lots of Veterinary Surgeries and Veterinary Hospitals across the country, we see many patients with Clinical Signs of Heart Disease.
What signs?
Often when pets with heart disease come to see us, they present because of signs of illness; we see problems like slowing down on walks, dogs panting more than normal, or pets with a cough in the mornings or on exercise.
Sometimes pets are seen because they suddenly have a swollen abdomen from fluid retention, or cats can suddenly experience hind limb paralysis from clots or thrombi, which break off from inside the heart and lodge in the hind legs. (So called aortic thromboembolism).
Of course some cases may present merely as a sudden death at rest or exercise, which can be a tremendous shock to our Owners.
So how can you help your dog or cat?
Well a regular health check is where we start.
The Vets at Abbeyfields in Rocester do our best to check all pets that come for their regular, annual booster examinations. A health check is part of the deal at vaccination time and gives an opportunity for us to listen to your pet’s chest. We can pick up abnormalities like changes in heart rate, heart murmurs from leaky valves or strange heart rhythms. These findings can be clues to a heart problem that is beginning to start, but hasn’t yet caused obvious clinical signs in your pet, that you can see at home.
But a year between check ups can some times be too long.
So how about this?
The Vets at Abbeyfields in Rocester are completing a Survey and Free Checks on Hidden Heart Disease.
By thinking about your pets, their lifestyle, and checking their hearts, we can see how common heart disease is in our general population of dogs and cats around Rocester and the surrounding areas between Uttoxeter, Ashbourne and Cheadle, even if there are no clinical signs.
Checking Your Pet’s Heart will provide a bench mark for its health now and in the future. We can let you know what to look out for, whether you could make changes now that might avoid severe disease later and advise if there are signs present like a murmur you may not be aware of.
We can also help with further checks or treatment if need be. Further checks can be ECG, Xray, Ultrasound Heart Scans and Specialist Referrals if you so wish.
Plus we can gain an idea how prevalent heart disease is in this part of the Country.
Book a Free Heart Check from Valentine’s Day, February 14th, 2012 until the end of the Month.
Visit the Surgery for your Free check and Complete a Small Questionnaire about your Pet.
Telephone the Surgery on 01889 590449 and book your Free Appointment.
Not only will we examine your dog or cat, but every person who takes part in the survey will be entered into a free draw for a Heart Shaped Computer Mouse.
We have 15 Computer Mice to give away, kindly donated by Novartis. They even light up!
Have a look below and contact the Veterinary Surgery on 01889 590449 to book a convenient appointment.
