http://www.smartgroups.com/message/readmessage.cfm?gid=1423922&messageid=3390
 
Author wrote:
>I recently saved a three year old ferret from a pet store where his
>owner had abandoned him.  It was the right thing to do because he is
>great, however, upon review at a vet we found that he has a heart murmur
>a level 4.5 on a scale of six the vet said.  The heart is enlarged.
>Symptoms other than this include that he has been quite lethargic really
>only being active for an hour maybe two each day.  He has free reign of
>the house but choses to hide out and sleep quite a bit.  I know that the
>previous owner had other ferrets, my ferret had apparently at one time
>had three other brothers.  Also I know the previous owner did not take
>him to the vet at any point that he had him.  I am concerned for him,
>and want to give him the best quality of life.  What should I have the
>vet look for, and what are some possible things I can do to help him
>out.  I want only the best for him, and am concerned that his quality of
>life is subpar because he is having health issues.
 
Heart enlargement in a ferret, coupled with profound lethargy and a
severe murmur is very suggestive of cardiomyopathy - a degenerative
disease of the heart which may strike at any age.
 
Heartworms are another, far less common possibility in such cases.
Murmurs result from turbulence during blood flow and are most often the
result of a stretched and leaky heart valve.  You can also hear them in
heartworm disease, as the presence of the worms disrupt blood flow.
 
Echocardiography, if available, is a more specific diagnostic test which
helps to quantitate the severity of the dilation of the hearts chambers.
It can also pick up the presence of heartworms, but just to be on the
safe side, if you are in a heartworm endemic area, an occult heartworm
test is appropriate as well.
 
The treatment for cardiomyopathy is medical - a combination of diuretics,
vasodilators, and digitalis derivatives.  Because heart disease cannot be
repaired, only its progression slowed - I would attempt to come to a
specific diagnosis as soon as possible in order to institute the
appropriate therapy.
 
With kindest regards,
Bruce Williams, DVM
 
[Sukie note: some folks will recall that a relative who was abusing her
animals by not providing enough vet care (She is in another state where
that wasn't strongly considered.) lost a ferret to heartworm.  It may be
that one thing she did not realize -- until that ferret's death got her
to provide better care -- may be a common thing not known.  Heartworms
are spread by mosquitoes.  She had thought that direct contact with
another animal with heart worm was needed but that is not the case.
So, just in case someone here doesn't know that...]
[Posted in FML issue 4069]