Heart Problems
This is where we have a hush, and put on a solemn expression
for like the word Cancer, we are all expected to think deeply
of mortality when these are mentioned. Why the veterinary
and medical professions get so up tight about hearts is quite
beyond me. Perhaps I am being unjust and it is the media that
has hyped them up so much.
The heart is a pump, that can have problems, and yes, if
it stops you are in deep trouble for it could be every so
slightly terminal!. However there is much that can be done
to treat heart conditions, and guinea pigs are particularly
amenable to many of the medicines and therapies that are successful
on human beings.
The one thing to always bear in mind is the link between
heart and kidneys. Much of the workload of the heart is pumping
the blood through the kidneys so if there is something amiss
in the kidneys it can increase the workload of the heart so
the root cause could be a kidney problem rather than heart.
I always say a good healthy heart beat is one that has a
'full stop' at the end of it, 'ThuD, thuD, thuD.' If it sounds
'Thu, thu, thu,' then all is not well. However this doesn't
mean that the animal is about to keel over and die, nor will
it if sometimes when it is sounded the beat is uneven, some
animals and human beings have this uneven beat but it has
no ill effect whatsoever.
Murmurs of the heart are more serious because they could
be indicative of heart valve problems. As there is not much
that can be done for guinea pigs with this problem the only
advice I can give if you are aware of the problem, is to try
and keep them in the least stressful environments, preferably
paired with one other. The rough and tumble of pack living
would not be such a good idea.
If you are aware of anything irregular in the heart a good
supplement is Potassium which is very necessary for a normal
heart rate is recommended. Metatone, the well known 'pick
you up' for humans is rich in potassium and 0.4 two or three
time a week would be a good idea.
Guinea pigs can suffer heart attacks and strokes, see Strokes,
and I think more so than many other animals. This could be
diet related, too much protein perhaps, but I think it is
more likely to have something to do with their nervous systems
which are geared to keep them on high alert to flee from danger
rather than fight it.
If you find an guinea pig very weak on it's legs, or flat
out on it's side giving great heaving breaths which come from
deep down in the diaphram accompanied by a weak or slow heart
beat it has probably had a heart attack. If it is a light
coated animal which means it has pink lips and nostrils, they
will be cyanosed. There is sometimes nystagmus of the eyes,
this is a flicking movement of the eyeballs, though this is
more symptomatic in stroke cases, think heart attack!. Get
the animal to a vet as quick as possible for it is in need
of perhaps a heart stimulant and, or 0.2 of the diuretic Frusimde
injected subcutaneously. Oxygen is also very beneficial in
these cases.
The stimulant is not very often needed but the diuretic certainly
is. Who ever was responsible for discovering Frusimide I humbly
genuflect to for I, and many other owners of guinea pigs have
healthy happy animals who's lives have been saved by the timely
administration of this drug.
In more cases than not, one injection does the job and there
are no further problems. It takes about half to three-quarters
of an hour to take effect and the transformation is usually
quite rapid. To see the animal's laboured gradually subside
back to normal, and watch it getting shakily back onto it's
feet is very rewarding.
I have had two animals that had up to three heart attacks,
and luckily I was there when it happened and treated it as
described. In Sammy's case I was only just there, arriving
home to find him hardly breathing at all and it seemed that
I waited for ages to wait for the second heart beat after
the first one I had heard. I thought I was just going through
the motions when I injected him with frusemide for I was certain
I was going to lose him, he was, after all five and a half
years old and had had two other heart attacks, one at about
three years and one about eighteen months later.
I left him where he was, lying on the bottom of his pen in
the kitchen and made myself busy, not wanting to watch him
breath his last, there was nothing else I could give him to
give him relief.
About an hour later I heard a rustling noise from the kitchen.
When I went in, there he was, staggering about the pen like
a drunk, but up and about!. Within about eight hours he was
back to normal. He went on to live to seven and a half years
of age!
The point I am trying to make is never give up, it is always
worth a try, and incidentally, frusemide is one of the cheapest
of all drugs!
Sometimes the recovery from a heart attack takes a little
longer and the laboured breathing does not go all the way
back to normal. Frusemide can be given orally but not for
long because it depletes the very mineral that is important
to the heart, potassium. In these cases switch to a herbal
diuretic, and feed diuretic foods such as parsley, celery
and banana until things stabilise. Dandelions are also an
excellent diuretic, and clever old mother nature has made
them rich in, guess what, potassium!
