Tasha ([log in to unmask]) wrote:
 
>We have had her since August on a combination of digoxin, enacard, and
>lasix, and she is doing *great*.  Enacard is a somewhat new drug, and I
>think they're discovering that it, especially in combination with other
>drugs, just does wonders for cardiomyopathy patients.  (I've heard the
>same stuff about its use in humans, and in cats -- one of our cats
>developed a terrible murmur and was put on enacard, and now she has no
>detectable murmur at all.)
 
One of my ferrets has a murmur that was first detected when she was 4
months old.  She didn't require medication until she was 4 years old.  At
that time, her murmur was judged to be a Grade IV.  The enacard and digoxin
(and Co-Q10) have reduced the murmur to Grade 0/I - almost undetectable!
When enacard works, it can work very well.  My vet believes that it can be
one of the best weapons in the arsenal against heart problems.
 
However, the effects of enacard need to be carefully watched.  Quesenberry
(page 67) states "Ferrets appear to be sensitive to the hypotensive effects
of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and can become lethargic and
inappentent 1 to several days after the start of the ... therapy." In other
words, it can cause the blood pressure to drop to a dangerous level.
 
I had this happen in 1996 (before Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents came out)
and we had to figure this out the hard way.  I had Magellan in day-care at
a vet's office for another medical problem.  When I picked him up at 5pm to
take him home, he was almost comatose.  We ran an EKG and then consulted
with my now vet.  It was recommended that we pull Magellan off all the
drugs and add them back one at a time.  When the Enacard was added, the
problem reappeared about 2 weeks later.  It had taken about 2 months for
the problem to first manifest itself, not "several days" as suggested in
Quesenberry.
 
Magellan was the only one who couldn't tolerate enacard.  It has literally
been a lifesaver for the remainder of my heart patients.
 
    -Carla (not the shelter mom)
[Posted in FML issue 3080]