# Help. Heart murmur



## GoatMama123 (Sep 9, 2015)

While taking my sweet girls to be disbudded, the vet said my one little girl has a severe heart murmur and they could not disbud her with fear that the pain since she was a little older would overload her heart...and anesthesia is not an option for her ever.

Has anyone else had a goat with a murmur? Have they lived normal lives? The vet is telling me the 2 she's seen were 50/50 one lived a normal life, the other died before adulthood. I'm so heart broke.


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## MO_Boers (Aug 3, 2015)

Its gonna depend on how severe the murmur is. Ive never had it in any or my goats but I have in dogs. Some live a normal life, some don't make it an others grow out of it. Like I said just depends on how severe. 

Did the vet happen to mention how bad a heart murmur it was?


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## GoatMama123 (Sep 9, 2015)

She said scale of 1 to 6 it was a 5. You can feel it from the outside when she gets nervous


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## dreamacresfarm2 (May 10, 2014)

I have a dog that the vet said was the worst heart mummer she had heard in 30 years of working. The local vets just said he would live until he died. it could be today or 10 years. I made an appointment with the local vet college and they evaluated him. They were able to do a procedure that decreased the murmur . He now acts normally and is living life like the other dogs. He will still probably not live as long as he would without the mummer . He is now 3 years old - I can't have him neutered because of the anesthesia but other wise he is normal. You have to realize that you can't breed her either. He was on a medication before his procedure to help his heart. I would check with your local vet college.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

If you only have 2 goats, I would get a 3rd one. I haven't seen an alpaca last longer than around 6 months with a severe heart murmur. I'm guessing goats would be about the same but like others said there is no way to tell how long. I'm so sorry.


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## GoatMama123 (Sep 9, 2015)

Thanks guys, it sounds like it is going to be pretty spendy to have her evaluated by a cardiac specialist...the vet said they will be probably guessing too because not to many people bring their goats in and pay for the specialist to deal with heart murmurs in goats. So heartbroken. Shes such a sweetheart.


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## slackwater (Jul 24, 2015)

I had a horse live with a grade IV heart murmur for years (10+) after diagnosis. I put her down at 28 due mainly to complications from arthritis, not the heart murmur (though it did sometimes cause fluid buildup in her lower legs). I don't know why it would be a death sentence for a smaller animal, but I'd be inclined to just let them live as long as they can be healthy (enough) and happy. W/o breeding, of course.


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## GoatMama123 (Sep 9, 2015)

I don't plan on putting her down or anything...She will just be her sisters little side kick. High hopes, low expectations.


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## LGFarm01 (Jul 22, 2014)

I'm sorry, but goats with murmurs don't do well with them. I had a doe that threw me 2 doelings with them (we figured the first one was a one-off thing, but the second one got her culled to a pet/non-breeding home). The first doeling, we didn't notice the murmur, but in late fall, first really cold day of fall/winter, she got really cold when everyone else was fine. We brought her and her sister in, warmed her up, got her eating again, but that was the first time that I saw the huge size difference between the 2 sisters, she did good for a couple more days and then crashed on me and that time I couldn't get her back around. We had a necropsy done and she was completely missing a valve on the one side of her heart. The second one had an indented ribcage at birth which made breathing difficult for her, we luckily found an understanding home for her as a bottle baby, as she was too fragile for my place. That home just sent me an update recently that she was doing well, but they had her check and it is another heart murmur and they know that she will need to be kept warm through the winter and she might just hit a spot when her heart can't keep up.


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## GoatMama123 (Sep 9, 2015)

I did notice that she shivers a bit... even though it is 70 plus out


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## elchivito (Apr 18, 2010)

GoatMama123 said:


> While taking my sweet girls to be disbudded, the vet said my one little girl has a severe heart murmur and they could not disbud her with fear that the pain since she was a little older would overload her heart...and anesthesia is not an option for her ever.
> 
> Has anyone else had a goat with a murmur? Have they lived normal lives? The vet is telling me the 2 she's seen were 50/50 one lived a normal life, the other died before adulthood. I'm so heart broke.


11 years ago I had a pair of does born to my herd founder. Their mama was acting off so I had the vet out to look at her. She was OK. He said he'd check the babies while he was there. They were 5 days old and I was getting ready to disbud them. He says "this one has a bad heart murmur, don't disbud her with the iron, you'll kill her." He also said "she's not likely to survive very long with a murmur this bad". I listened to it with the stethoscope. Her heartbeat sounded, squishy, that's the only way I can describe it. 
We de-horned her surgically about 6 months later and the murmur was much improved. In a year it was gone completely. She is now the oldest doe in my herd and is, to this day, a domineering force of nature. My results may not be typical, but don't write her off just yet.


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## GoatMama123 (Sep 9, 2015)

elchivito. Oh my goodness. Thank you so much...I worry just constantly about going to check on her and she just being gone...all the info I read is very negative. Thank you for sharing your positive story. I am trying not to get too optimistic about her but just pray pray pray she will be ok.


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## nicolemackenzie (Dec 27, 2014)

I know in dogs and cats they can have murmurs as babies and grow out of them.

I've never dealt with it in a goat and can't imagine many cardiologists have. A vet school might look at her out of interest alone? Could be worth looking in to.


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## jmez61690 (Jun 16, 2015)

Not sure if this applies, but my youngest daughter had a heart murmur as a newborn and outgrew it, but not before we ended up at the Children's Hospital to see a cardiologist and get an ekg. 

What we learned through that experience is that the louder the murmur is, the smaller the hole. And that usually, the hole will close with age. 

Imagine how many baby goats could be born with murmurs that no one detects because no vet is checking? 

Maybe, just maybe, it's a very small hole that will close on it's own. At least, that's what I'll be praying.


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## GoatMama123 (Sep 9, 2015)

Just wanted to provide an update on this thread in case it helps anyone else.

Dorothy my heart murmur girl is still currently with us. 
The vet was out in January to blood test the her and said that her murmur was still grade 5. 
I have been told to have her evaluated elsewhere because of how otherwise healthy she appears to be... but the only place that would be is the university and I don't feel like putting her thru the stress of that commute, strange place, strange people. 

Hopefully this post doesn't jinx it. Still hoping for the best.


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

I'm glad she's hanging in there for you! I just lost a nine month old to an enlarged heart. She actually did fairly well right up to her last couple of days. She was our sweetest goat ever!


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## GoatMama123 (Sep 9, 2015)

What were her symptoms prior? Did you know about her heart ahead of time or thru necro?


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

GoatMama123 said:


> What were her symptoms prior? Did you know about her heart ahead of time or thru necro?


Miss Kitka never did grow right, but for a while she seemed healthy - just runty. When she did start going downhill, someone suggested she might have a murmur. My hubby is a nurse, so I borrowed his stethascope. I listened to Kitty's twin sister's heart first. It was lub-dub, lub dub. Then I listened to Kitty's. Her's was so loud it hurt my ears! LUB! DUB! LUB! DUB! and she was always short of breath...


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## GoatMama123 (Sep 9, 2015)

My girls murmur isn't loud in comparison to her sister... its a different sound. Its more like a swoosh sound as oppose to a lub dub sound if that makes sense. 

She is right on par with growth with non murmur sis, he rum is a little steep and I have never seen horns grow the direction hers are going. They also seem kind of flakey.


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