>From:    Robin Hegge <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: HEART MURMURS
>
>I didn't receive a response about heart murmurs in ferrets and the
>effect it has on them.  Is there anyone out there who has any ideas?
>Just thought I would try once more.  Thanks for any responses.
>
>Robin Hegge
 
Dear Robin.  Sorry for a very tardy reply - been running too fast for
work!
 
I had a sweet little albino named Minnie that had a congenital heart
murmur.  It sounded like a little washing machine, with and without a
stethescope.  However, she lived a very healthy and happy life and made
it to about eight and a half.  In the end she had some kidney problems,
and she also had adrenal problems and insulinoma, so she was on Lupron
(not a surgical case we decided, plus her adrenal problems were very late
onset), prednisone, and diazoxide.  She got real fat on pred, not good
for her heart, so we weaned her down and increased the diazoxide and she
took off the weight - one of our success stories! :).  There seemed to
be multiple things going on at the end and we tried to save her, but it
was her time.  She was a very, very perky gal!  She was runt at that,
just a pound and four ounces, the weight of a coke can.  I had her very
lovely mom, Claudette, as well, who lived to be nearly nine.  Such a
sweet pair of gals... I do miss them...
 
I've got Minnies "cardiopet" somewhere, which was a diagnostic test done
over the phone to New York and gave us some idea of the type of murmur
she had.  It was some kind of valve malformation.  I could dig it out if
anyone's interested, when I get back from two business trips (back May
10), but it wasn't too specific.
 
Good luck to you and your fur kid.
Lynn
[Posted in FML issue 4859]