Lifestyle

Heart murmurs in pets

One of the most common causes of a heart murmur is an abnormal heart valve. These can be either congenital or acquired.

A heart murmur is detected with a stethoscope usually during a routine clinical examination. The actual ‘murmur’ is an abnormal heart sound which is usually caused by turbulent (rather than smooth) blood flow.

Congenital murmurs are referred to as ‘innocent’ murmurs if the problem corrects itself (benign). Usually innocent murmurs are less intense (softer). Up to 30% of puppies and kittens can have an innocent murmur.

Heart murmurs are graded by intensity (loudness) from grades 1-6, with a grade 1 being the softest and grade 6 being the loudest. Unfortunately, the grade of the murmur does not always correlate with the severity of heart disease, but can be used in patient records to describe the murmur, which helps determine progression of disease with each examination.

What is the prognosis for pets with heart murmurs?

Not all murmurs progress to congestive heart failure. Many older pets have heart murmurs due to mitral valve deterioration, but this does not always mean your pet will live a shorter life span. It depends whether the heart can compensate sufficiently without medication.

What are the signs of congestive heart failure in pets?

• Exercise intolerance • Coughing • Increased respiratory rate • Pale gums

What diagnostic tests are available? Congenital heart murmurs

If you have a new puppy or kitten and your vet detects a heart murmur that persists as your pet grows, then it is essential that further testing

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is done to ensure that the abnormality causing the heart murmur is not life threatening.

Some examples of lifethreatening heart murmurs include aortic stenosis; patent ductus arteriosus (PDA); and ventricular septal defect (VSD). Testing involves chest x-rays and cardiac ultrasound, usually by a specialist veterinary cardiologist or veterinary ultrasonographer.

Acquired heart murmurs

For adult cats and dogs that develop a heart murmur, your vet will be able to guide you with the best diagnostic recommendations depending on the severity of the murmur.

DOGS - Generally, if a heart murmur is detected for the first time and is a grade 1 or 2, then imaging may not be required immediately, however more frequent veterinary exams will be recommended to see how quickly the murmur progresses.

If the murmur is a grade 3/6 or higher, then chest x-rays and a cardiac ultrasound should be carried out to determine the cause. When a chest x-ray is taken, your vet can determine whether the heart is abnormally large and if there is any fluid accumulating on the lungs (pulmonary oedema).

CATS - Require diagnostic testing immediately if a heart murmur is detected. While some of the murmurs are harmless, some cats even with a low intensity murmur can have serious heart disease (eg. hypertrophic cardiomyopathy). This may result in blood clots forming which may lodge in an artery, cutting off blood supply to various parts of the body.

My recommendation for cats with a murmur is the following: • Blood testing • Chest x-rays • Cardiac ultrasound

What treatment is available?

Congestive heart failure is initially treated with injectable diuretics (frusemide) to rapidly remove fluid congesting the lungs as well as oxygen supplementation. This emergency treatment can be life-saving. Once your pet is stable, usually your vet will prescribe a combination of diuretics and cardiac drugs.

How can I effectively monitor my pet?

The best way to monitor your pet’s heart disease is to record a sleeping respiratory rate 2-3 times per week. Ideally the respiratory rate per minute should be < 25 breaths. If it gets to 30 breaths or above, it is important to see your vet.

There is now a phone app called Heart2Heart which allows the pet owner to record respiratory rate easily.

Coughing may occur if there is a significant amount of fluid building up on the lungs. However, coughing is not always the result of fluid and there are many respiratory disorders that can cause concurrent disease in older patients.

How can I help my pet with congestive heart failure?

• Short easy walks • Avoid hot weather • Low stress environment • Regular vet exams • Healthy weight • Low salt diet • Avoid prednisolone • Medications are for life, so ensure you do not miss giving your pet a dose

Dr Gretta Howard. Veterinarian Twitter: @ DrGrettaVet

A brief foray into India

We’re very fortunate in the travel industry that invitations do come our way from time to time to experience what we sell - be it a cruise ship, a tour, a destination or simply a group of related hotels.

It’s fair to say that some trips are harder than others – Los Angeles might look like FUN FUN FUN but trust me - when you’re into hotel inspection number 6 and it’s only lunchtime, the promise of cocktails and a great dinner seem poor recompense! However, when you receive a too-good-to-miss invitation for the exotic and interesting, life rocks!

So when one of our preferred (because they are fantastic) partners, Exotic Destinations, said come to India and enjoy a journey encompassing the best of Taj Hotels and Alila Hotels, I didn’t wait to be asked twice. It was also an opportunity for me to test the veracity of claims that you can’t go to India and not get sick (I didn’t get sick), and that beggars are everywhere and won’t leave you alone (poppycock). For the record, this was one of the best trips I have ever experienced in all of my travel career and I think it was the element of surprise that did it for me.

Firstly, the energy in India is amazing. Everyone seems to be doing something – selling bananas roadside, herding donkeys out of the way so cars might pass, pulling handcarts, waiting graciously at tables or enveloping you in the most beautifully warm welcome. Secondly, India is so colourful, interested and interesting. It’s a photographer’s dream: saris of riotous shades, fabulous turbans and luxuriant moustaches, fascinating streetscapes, inquisitive faces. It’s the total package.

Then there’s the unexpected. I had imagined Delhi as a dirty, dusty city. What I found was a city with stunning heritage architecture, a luxuriant forest and huge parklands. The view from our coach as we drove between Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur (‘the Purs’) was mesmerising - fertile fields that sustain millions punctuated by chaotic-looking support towns, rolling hills, and craggy mountains - all of it greener than the parched Sydney to which I returned. The Taj Mahal was sublime. Udaipur and the Lake Palace, magical.

Our much treasured guide, Davinda, kept us entertained and educated throughout. A font of knowledge, he was able to speak about the history of India; its architecture and religions; its customs and culture. How the caste system works and what is being done to improve the lot of those at the bottom (rules and regulations and positive discrimination); the shortcomings of the civil service and bureaucracy and who isn’t working (his sister, whose day is filled with cups of tea!); how arranged marriages are arranged; and why you see litter on the street (the ‘government’ will clean it up).

Young people under 25 constitute 50% of the population. They value education and most still expect to meet their spouse via the aforementioned arranged marriage, have a couple of children and live to a ripe old age. It’s no wonder that India is a future powerhouse and to my mind contrasts sharply with that other would be superpower, China, which labours under communism, the legacy of the one child policy and consequently, a markedly skewed older demographic. It seems so much more certain that India will catch up, and then stride ahead, on many metrics.

Integral to every trip is food and goodness gracious me, did we eat well! There was not a hint of butter chicken (English Indian anyway!). Instead my breakfasts, lunches and dinners featured dosa, paratha, samosa, pakora, paneer and more. Hot, medium or mild, you choose. On the odd occasion when we had Indian Chinese or Indian Italian, I was strangely disappointed.

Would I go again? In a heartbeat. Should you consider a trip to India? Absolutely. My favourite memory? This gorgeous dancer (pictured) whose beads of sweat are barely perceptible despite an energetic routine and humid conditions!

What’s stopping you?????

tips

Best time to go?

October to February. Shoulder season September is hot and humid, but not intolerable. It is uncrowded.

Where to start?

The northern jewels of Agra, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur with Delhi. Allow 10-12 days.

Other attractions?

River cruising, golfing, wildlife (tigers).

Budget?

Splurge if you can, but no less than superior standard for most Australians.

TRAVEL Adrienne Witteman, Managing Director, Trendsetter Travel & Cruise Centre.

I feel like we have had a head start with this summery weather that started in spring. The lure of sand in the toes with a dog-eared book is calling. But before we get to that summer job of hammock stretching, there’s the small chore of end-of-year get-togethers. ‘Taking a plate’ leaves some folks quaking in their thongs, so having something up your sleeve will help calm the nerves. I have two recipes to help you in the kitchen - a last-minute time saving shortbread to have with drinks, together with a make-the-night-before summer fruit trifle.

Salad tips

• Think of your favourite soup flavours and translate that into a salad. Tray roast the vegetables, brighten the flavour with a splash of white wine vinegar, then toss through salad leaves with complimentary herbs, cheese, legumes or toasted nuts. • Roasted pumpkin, with coriander, cucumber, black beans and crumbled feta is a great combination. Or try barbequed corn sheared off the cob, tossed with lime zest and juice, avocado, basil, cherry tomatoes and shaved parmesan. • If you’re taking a salad to a party, add thinly sliced onions and dressing to the base of the bowl, then lay a sheet of greaseproof paper over this with the other salad ingredients on top of the paper. At the time of serving, remove the paper and toss the dressing through.

This will keep your salad crisp, whilst marinating the onion so it’s not so bitey.

Bern the Chef is a local caterer who has been in the Lane Cove area for over 15 years. She has worked in many corporate catering positions as well as operating a small business. Bern loves catering and the freedom that clients give her to do what she does best. Cooking is her forte and Bern loves the classics as well as keeping up to date with the latest food trends. www.bernthechef.com.au

Spiced savoury shortbread

Savoury is just as good as sweet. My savoury mustard, paprika and cheddar shortbread is great with crisp white wine or champagne, olives or as part of a nibbles platter. The dough can be made up in the food processor - quick sticks! Make two batches - one to bake and take that day, and a raw batch ready to roll and bake at a moment’s notice INGREDIENTS • 480 gms plain flour, sifted • 360 gms unsalted butter at room temperature • 50 gms Reggiano Parmigiano, grated • 1 tspn sea salt • 1 tspn smoked paprika • 1 tspn dry mustard powder • 1 tblspn fresh thyme • 1 egg yolk • 30-40 mls cold water • ½ cup sesame seeds or poppy seeds

METHOD • Add dry ingredients to your food processor, with the flour first to help the mixing. Mix on pulse till the mixture looks like damp sand, then add the egg yolk and half of the cold water. Pulse to let it come together, taking care not to overwork the dough. If it’s a humid day, you may not need all the water. • Once it is a soft dough, scrape into a bowl, cover with wrap, and pat and roll into two logs about 4-5 cm diameter. • Roll in raw sesame seeds, wrap in cling wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. This lets the gluten relax, the butter to firm up and it also helps with handling. You can keep one roll in the fridge for later, and bake one now. • Preheat a fan forced oven to 170 degrees. Grease or layer a baking sheet with greaseproof paper. Remove pastry from fridge, cut into ½ cm thick discs and lay onto the tray with about 2 cm between each to allow for spreading.

Bake 15-20 mins or until a light golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack and store in an airtight container. • Cooked shortbread keeps for about one week. Chilled raw dough keeps for about two weeks in the fridge, or one month in the freezer.

Summer fruit trifle

It’s always tough when everyone brings a dessert, and you watch your heart and soul along with your baking effort be the last to go - even to have to take it home without it being finished. So, here’s something that everyone will gobble up!

Everyone loves a trifle, so how about a layered fruit trifle, with berries, stone fruit and melon, topped with coconut yoghurt. Light, nutritious and a great change to cheesecakes and rich chocolate desserts. Added to this, it’s non-cook, can be made the day before, travels well and looks very inviting.

METHOD • Start by making a pineapple puree, with a fresh pineapple and a bunch of mint leaves. • Next step is to layer your favourite trifle dish, starting with the sturdier fruit, peeled and cut into largish pieces including watermelon, honeydew melon, mango slices, kiwi fruit, sliced peaches and hulled strawberries. • Then evenly pour over the pineapple puree and top with a mass of blueberries and cover with coconut yoghurt.

Decorate with fresh raspberries, lychees, passionfruit and/or toasted coconut flakes. • Chill for 4 hours in the fridge or overnight. It’s fresh, pretty to admire, gluten free, dairy free, and full of nutrition.