Heart Murmur

Kim had her heart murmur confirmed as a Grade 4-5 (out of 6). It’s currently nearer to a 4 than a 5 but it is borderline. That she has shown no clinical symptoms is positive but she will go in for a cardiac ultrasound to identify the exact cause of the problem. That she is fit and healthy is a bonus as her heart is in good condition, and our vet said to let her do agility and flyball as she has to enjoy what she can do whilst she can still do it. We don’t know when she won’t be able to do agility or flyball any more, but there will be a point when it is too much stress for her heart and cause coughing fits or fainting spells.

A lot of people have reminded me that Kim doesn’t know about any health problems she has, and doesn’t worry about them. I know she could well still live to 14 or longer, and eventually it might be something else that is the real problem then. I know that even when she does retire from flyball and agility, it will bother her that she’s not the center of attention but she won’t really mind lazing around the house all day and sleeping in the conservatory and getting all the best seats whilst Mollie and Dylan are out of the house. But it’s still very hard for me to hear that my girl has something wrong with her and there is nothing I can do to fix it.