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Some murmurs are called "innocent" and require no formal treatment. Anemia or high blood pressure requires primary treatment for the resultant murmur to resolve. Cardiomyopathies may require medical management. Some congenital disorders may resolve as a cat grows, or may require surgical correction. What Is a Heart Murmur? So the vet prescribed gabapentin for my cat who has extreme anxiety for when she travels and we have a 3 hour car ride coming up (moving). My other cat who was not prescribed gabapentin has a mild heart murmur but also has travel anxiety and I was thinking I would just give her a gabapentin that I have for the other cat but I'm concerned about whether Gabapentin could potentially be harmful There are no contraindications for gabapentin in cats with heart disease. It is well tolerated, the most common side effect would be sedation (which is what it’s usually being prescribed for). I know cardiologists that prescribe it for spicy feline patients. Can gabapentin cause a heart murmur in cats? No, gabapentin is not known to cause heart murmurs in cats. In fact, studies indicate it can actually improve the evaluation of diastolic function on echocardiograms. In cats, gabapentin is most often used as a pain medication for chronic pain, such as from arthritis. Gabapentin is also recognized as beneficial in reducing the fear responses that a kitty may have to the stress of handling and being examined at the vet. Fern had a dose of gabapentin two hours before. It worked extremely well until we opened the front door, and the usual anxiety began. This time, his heart rate was 290 for the doctor, and the murmur was still there (which a second doctor came in and confirmed). Dose: 50mg per cat for cats <3.0Kg, 100mg per cat for those >3.0Kg Give directly or in one tablespoonful of food 2-3 hours before transport to the surgery. Specialist opinion backs up our opinion that this volume of food on this time scale is not an unacceptable risk even if subsequent additional sedation or anaesthesia is required. The Research Subclinical cardiac murmurs have a reported prevalence of 15.5% to 34% in cats. 1,2 Benign heart murmurs (ie, not associated with structural heart disease on echocardiography) are relatively common. 1,2 Echocardiography remains the gold standard to evaluate for cardiac disease. Owners of the two lightest cats reported marked sedation after return home. The authors suggest: ‘For cats with a body weight close to the mean in this study (5.15 kg), a gabapentin dose of 100 mg (approx 20 mg/kg) appeared to result in the best balance of clinical effect with adverse effects. Sedation for cats • Gabapentin given at home 2−3 hours before the visit at 50 mg−100 mg/cat orally. • If Gabapentin does not provide sufficient sedation, administer: Gabapentin can also be used when clients are taking cats to the veterinary hospital; 50 to 100 mg PO administered 2 to 3 hours beforehand will produce mild to heavy sedation and possible ataxia. Gabapentin produces no known cardiovascular effects, direct or indirect, in cats. healthy cats. JVIM 2011;25:1010-1016). The presence or absence of a murmur is not a good predictor of heart disease in cats. Plasma NT-ProBNP is a useful test for identifying occult HCM and the author recommends this for pre-anesthetic screening in mature and senior cats, and cats with murmurs. This murmur is most likely an innocent or physiologic murmur caused by increased cardiac output and a high heart rate (common in cats). An echocardiogram is necessary to determine whether a benign dynamic right ventricular outflow tract obstruction (DRVOTO) or a pathologic dynamic left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (DLVOTO) is present. My dog is extremely anxious whenever we have to take her to the vet. I don't like her getting so worked up since she has a heart murmur. The vet said he could prescribe Gabapentin for anxiety that we could give her before coming to the vet, but he told me I should do some of my own research before I decide to make sure I am comfortable giving it to her. The Research Subclinical cardiac murmurs have a reported prevalence of 15.5% to 34% in cats. 1,2 Benign heart murmurs (ie, not associated with structural heart disease on echocardiography) are relatively common. 1,2 Echocardiography remains the gold standard to evaluate for cardiac disease. Gabapentin is generally not known to cause heart murmurs, or have any adverse effects on the cardiovascular hemodynamics of young healthy cats. However, it can lower heart rate which may be a concern for cats with pre-existing heart conditions. Gabapentin is an oral medication commonly given to cats for sedation or prior to veterinary visits to reduce their anxiety. While there are currently no known side effects in cats, this medication does tend to lower their heart rates, which can be detrimental to cats with heart conditions. Virtually all murmurs in adult dogs are indicative of structural heart disease. Virtually all murmurs in adult dogs are indicative of structural heart disease. INITIAL DIAGNOSIS. The cause of a murmur can often be determined or strongly suspected based on auscultation (ie, location, timing, intensity, and quality). 1. Can gabapentin cause new onset heart failure in cats? 2. Is it safe to give gabapentin to a cat with a heart murmur? 3. How does gabapentin affect blood pressure in cats? 4. Can gabapentin affect a cat’s breathing? 5. Does gabapentin interact with other heart medications? 6. How soon before a vet visit should I give my cat gabapentin? 7. To complicate things, some cats with murmurs may not have any heart disease at all and some cats with heart disease have no murmur (Paige et al. 2009; Payne et al. 2015)! Also, it is completely possible for you to press too hard on the chest and cause turbulent blood flow and a murmur since the chest wall of cats is so compliant (Ferasin et al
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