Two Common Forms of Congenital Heart Disease in Puppies

Congenital heart disease in puppies can take many different forms, but the most common forms usually involve the shape of the heart valves or narrowing of the valve openings or defects in the chambers of the heart. Two of the most common diseases seen are patent ductus arteriosus and tetralogy of Fallot.

The patent ductus arteriosus is a persistent connection between the aorta and the pulmonary artery, which must be closed at the time of the puppy’s birth. This connection between the aorta and the pulmonary artery is normal in the fetus because the lungs are not needed at that time, however, after birth this connection should close. If not, the blood will continue to be diverted around the lungs and will not be adequately oxygenated.

Tetralogy of Fallot is a condition where there are actually four abnormalities occurring at the same time. This condition, like the previous one, also causes the blood to not be adequately oxygenated by the lungs.

Diagnosis of these two conditions is normally made using X-rays, ultrasound, and ECG. Because these conditions make the heart very inefficient at pumping blood, the normal clinical signs are puppies that are very lethargic and tire very easily.

Surgery is normally required for these types of heart defects and is usually curative if the defects are minor. In severe cases, even surgery will not help.

As always, it is best to prevent these diseases from happening, which is to breed dogs that do not have a history of these diseases in their bloodlines. If you are thinking of buying a puppy from a breeder, you need to find one that has a history of healthy puppies.