Lub-dub. Lub-dub. Lub-dub.<\/p>\n This is the way a normal heartbeat in a dog is described.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n When your dog has a heart murmur, it means the heart sounds aren\u2019t normal when the veterinarian listens with a stethoscope.<\/p>\n Lub-whoosh, lub-whoosh, lub-whoosh.<\/p>\n Or maybe lub-swish-dub, lub-swish-dub, lub-swish-dub. Something more like that. <\/p>\n What\u2019s this mean for your canine companion, and are Shiba Inus more prone to heart murmurs than other breeds?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n To understand heart murmurs, you need to understand normal blood flow through the heart. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n A normal dog heart has four chambers which are separated by valves. After circulating through the dog\u2019s body, unoxygenated blood returns to the heart through large veins called the vena cava.<\/p>\n The first heart chamber the blood enters is the right atrium. The blood flows from the right atrium through the tricuspid valve into the right ventricle.<\/p>\n From the right ventricle, blood will be pumped through the pulmonary valve into the lungs. Here, the blood will become reoxygenated.<\/p>\n After leaving the lungs, blood enters the left atrium. It passes through the mitral valve into the left ventricle.<\/p>\n From here, blood will be pumped through the aortic valve to the rest of the body. <\/p>\n It\u2019s hard work pumping blood to the whole body, so the left ventricle is typically the most muscular chamber of the heart. The aorta is a very large artery that carries blood away from the heart to the rest of the body.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The normal heart sounds are caused by the flow of blood moving through the chambers as the heart valves open and close.<\/p>\n The first sound \u2013 the lub \u2013 results from the mitral and tricuspid valves closing. The second heart sound \u2013 the dub \u2013 is produced by the aortic and pulmonic valves closing.<\/p>\n A heart murmur is an abnormal heart sound that occurs due to turbulent blood flow within the heart.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n For example, if there is a hole in the wall between two heart chambers, blood passing through the abnormal hole might make an abnormal heart sound.<\/p>\n Similarly, if a valve isn\u2019t shaped normally, blood won\u2019t flow through it normally. The resulting turbulence may make an abnormal sound.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n There are six grades of heart murmurs, ranging from grade 1 to grade 6.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The grade of a heart murmur is based on how loud it is. A grade 1 heart murmur is barely audible.<\/p>\n A grade 6 is loud enough that the veterinarian can hear the murmur without even touching their stethoscope to the chest wall<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Importantly, the grade doesn\u2019t always correlate with the severity.<\/p>\n A dog with a loud grade 5 or 6 heart murmur doesn\u2019t always have severe underlying disease. Conversely, a dog with severe heart disease can have a quiet murmur.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n A dog of any breed can have a heart murmur, including Shiba Inus. However, Shibas don\u2019t appear to be more likely than other dogs to develop congenital heart defects. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Congenital heart disease is malformation of the heart or its vessels, with the abnormalities present at birth.<\/p>\n According to the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA)<\/a>, at the time of the writing of this article, of the 805 Shiba Inu hearts they have screened for congenital heart disease, 100% of them have been normal.<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t to say it never happens! One study<\/a> did include Shiba Inus under a list of purebred dogs they\u2019d detected congenital heart disease in, but the Shibas weren\u2019t listed as being in the top 21 breeds.<\/p>\n Of the 291 Shiba Inus the OFA has scanned for heart conditions using a basic screening (licensed veterinarian listening to the heart), 100% have also been normal. <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The OFA records results for advanced cardiac screening, which requires an echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart), but it doesn\u2019t appear they have any data publicly available for Shibas at this time.<\/p>\n Currently, the OFA doesn\u2019t require a cardiac screening for breeding Shibas to get CHIC certified, which means they don\u2019t consider heart disease a common genetic condition in the breed.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n An innocent murmur in a puppy is a heart murmur that isn\u2019t caused by an underlying heart abnormality.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n While not all grade 1 or 2 heart murmurs are innocent, most innocent heart murmurs are quiet, so they\u2019re usually graded a 1 or 2. <\/p>\n Innocent murmurs are found in over one-fourth of puppies<\/a>. Most innocent heart murmurs will go away by the time the puppy is 6 months old, according to the Cornell Richard P. Riney Canine Health Center<\/a>. These murmurs have no impact on the dog\u2019s health. <\/p>\n If your veterinarian detects a quiet heart murmur in a puppy, they may recommend re-evaluation as the puppy matures.<\/p>\n If the heart murmur is decreasing in intensity or goes away over time, it was likely an innocent murmur. In this case, there is no cause for concern.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n However, if the murmur is persistent or gets louder, it may indicate a congenital condition that could impact your pet\u2019s health.<\/p>\n The veterinarian will recommend additional testing, specifically an echocardiogram, to determine if there is an abnormality in the heart.<\/p>\n Not all abnormalities will be serious, but the echocardiogram will help determine if additional steps are necessary.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n A variety of heart defects cause heart murmurs in dogs. More common causes of heart murmurs in dogs include:<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Heart murmurs sometimes have causes that aren\u2019t related to the heart itself, which is called a \u201cfunctional heart murmur.\u201d <\/span><\/em><\/span><\/em><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/em>Extracardiac conditions that could cause a heart murmur include anemia, fever, or pregnancy.<\/span><\/p>\n If an adult dog has a heart disease, we generally recommend against breeding that dog. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n This is because some heart conditions are suspected to have a genetic component. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n However, some heart conditions occur without a family history, so there is no guarantee that your dog won\u2019t have a heart murmur at some point in life.<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/em><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Heart murmurs don\u2019t generally have symptoms, but the underlying heart condition might. Symptoms of a heart condition could include:<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n![\"Rhiannon](\"https:\/\/myfirstshiba.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/koehler_DVM.jpg\" "\\"koehler_DVM\\"")
<\/span>By: By Rhiannon Koehler, DVM, MPH<\/p>\n![\"heart](\"https:\/\/myfirstshiba.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/heart_murmur.jpg\" "\\"heart_murmur\\"")
<\/span><\/p>\nWhat Are Exactly are Heart Murmurs?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"illustration](\"https:\/\/myfirstshiba.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/dog_heart-copy.jpg\" "\\"dog_heart")
<\/span><\/p>\n![\"cute](\"https:\/\/myfirstshiba.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/shutterstock_1811799775-copy.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/span><\/p>\nHeart Murmur Grades Explained<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Are Shiba Inus Prone to Heart Murmurs?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"happy](\"https:\/\/myfirstshiba.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/shutterstock_273572195-copy.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
<\/span><\/p>\nWhat Are Innocent Heart Murmurs?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"shiba](\"https:\/\/myfirstshiba.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/shiba_outdoors.jpg\" "\\"shiba_outdoors\\"")
<\/span><\/p>\nWhat Heart Defects or Conditions Cause Heart Murmurs?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Can Heart Murmurs in Shiba Inus Be Prevented?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n
What Are the Symptoms of a Heart Murmur?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n
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