My approximately 5 year old ferret Ozzy was diagnosed with
cardiomyopathy and an arrhythmia two weeks ago. This was diagnosed
by a cardiologist using ultrasound and EKG. He is not sure if Ozzy
has dilated cardiomyopathy or a form of restrictive cardiomyopathy.
He recommended starting therapy for the poor contractility of the
ventricle as well as for the frequent ventricular premature contraction
(VPC's) that were present. There is a possibility, though unlikely,
that Ozzy developed a form of heart infection called myocarditis. I
have been owned by ferrets since 1996 and have been through a host
of illnesses, common and not so common, but this is my first
cardiomyopathy so I am unsure as what to expect.

My vet (who is very ferret experienced) started him on Vetmedin twice
daily, ( 1.25mg tablet he gets 1/4 twice daily) and Enalapril every
other day ( 2.5mg tablet he gets 1/8 once every other day) Lasix and
the cardiologist recommended Sotalol for the arrhythmia. It is a
compounded med that he gets .10 ml twice daily. My vet has never used
Sotalol in a ferret but could not find any information stateing that it
was unsafe for ferrets. My questions are has anyone else used Sotalol
before? Any side effects? I am also unsure as to why the cardiologist
was unable to determine which kind of cardiomyopathy he has.I know
dilated is more common. Ozzy has been rechecked with my vet and another
EKG done. MY vet said EKG looked good and his heart sounded a lot
better but Ozzy still is not to interested in playing. Is this typical
with heart disease? He still eats like normal. Loves his soup and
Vivify.

I would appreciate any advice or experience from others that have
dealt with this.

Thank You,
Anita Smith

[Posted in FML 7270]