Symptoms of Heart or Respiratory Disease

Our cardiologists provide your pets with comprehensive diagnosis and management of heart and respiratory disorders. Pets with any of the following symptoms may benefit from cardiology care:

• Coughing
• Breathing problems or shortness of breath
• Heart murmurs
• Heart failure
• Irregular heart rate (arrhythmias)
• Weakness from heart or lung disease, fainting, or collapse
• Congenital cardiac birth disorders
• Acquired heart disease
• Elevated blood pressure (hypertension)

Pets with heart or respiratory conditions receive added benefits from a cardiology consultation:

• Cardiac consultation includes strategies for prevention of heart failure
• Efforts are dedicated to assure safe and effective long-term health management of pets with heart disease
• Care is focused to improve and maintain quality of life

We provide comprehensive dermatological care for pets with a variety of skin problems including:

• Allergies
• Environmental contaminants
• Fleas
• Parasites
• Autoimmune skin diseases
• Superficial and deep skin infections
• Skin masses

Tests

Common tests used to assure an accurate diagnosis include:

• Allergy testing
• Hyposensitization
• Blood tests
• Skin biopsies

Treatments

Treatment depends on the diagnosis, but may include:

• Dietary trials
• Specialized diets (which can sometimes reduce the need for medication)
• Special shampoos
• Immune therapy
• A variety of medications

Diabetes is a disease where your pet’s pancreas either can’t make enough insulin or can’t use its own insulin as well as it should. Both problems causes sugar to build up in your pet’s blood. Diabetes can cause serious health complications, including heart disease, blindness and kidney failure, among others.

Endocrinology is the study of the endocrine system, consisting of the thyroid gland, the adrenal glands, the pancreas, and the hypothalamus and pituitary gland (hormone-secreting regions of the brain). Common endocrine diseases that are diagnosed and managed by our internists include

• diabetes mellitus
• diabetes insipidus
• hyper- and hypoparathyroidism
• hyper- and hypothyroidism
• hyperadrenocorticism (Cushing’s disease)
• hypoadrenocorticism (Addison’s disease)

Gastroenterology is the study of the gastrointestinal tract, which includes the

• Esophagus
• Stomach
• Small and large intestines
• Liver
• Pancreas

Our gasteroenterologists utilize small, flexible scopes to perform esophagoscopy, gastroduodenoscopy, and colonoscopy. These procedures are a minimally invasive means to visualize the gastrointestinal tract and obtain biopsies. This can aid in the diagnosis of conditions such as

• Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
• Food allergies
• Gastrointestinal ulcers
• Cancer

Additionally, these scopes are occasionally used to retrieve foreign bodies in the esophagus or stomach.

Hematology is the branch of internal medicine devoted to the diagnosis and treatment of disease of the blood and blood forming elements. Blood is composed of red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets (blood clotting cells) and the liquid (also called plasma) the cells are suspended in as they circulate around the body. Dogs and cats suffer from diseases of all blood cells and deficiencies of proteins contained in the plasma. These proteins are responsible for normal blood coagulation.

Common hematologic diseases of the dog and cat include:

• Hemophilia, a deficiency of blood clotting proteins
• Von Willebrand’s disease, the most common canine inherited blood disorder
• Thrombocytopenia, deficiency of platelets or blood clotting cells
• Anticoagulant rodenticide intoxication, deficiency of blood clotting proteins
• Hemolytic anemia, excessive destruction of red blood cells
• Immune mediated neutropenia, excessive destruction of white blood cells
• Myelodysplasia/Myeloproliferative disorders, abnormal bone marrow function

Nephrology is the study of the kidneys. Our internists specialize in the diagnosis and management of both acute and chronic kidney disease. Hemodialysis and continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) are available for use in appropriate patients.

Urology is the study of the lower urinary tract, which is comprised of the bladder and urethra. Ultrasound and cystoscopy (using a scope to visualize the lower urinary tract) are commonly performed diagnostic tests performed to diagnose common urologic disorders. Some typical disorders are

• bladder stones
• feline lower urinary tract disease
• polyps
• tumors
• ectopic ureters