I have a 3 year male with severe TVD. Was not expected to live to maturity. He went into heart failure at 4 1/2 months after a bout with mild kennel cough, but recovered with heart medication. He's been on medication ever since. Getting him through the growth stage was tough, but has been stable for a couple years - requires special diet and medications, but happy and busy, although will tire easily when playing with other dogs. Sees the cardiologist every six months for medication adjustments.
Here are my questions. How long did your severe TVD dog live and how did he/she go - gradual heart failure or sudden death or something else?
My boy, as per earlier posting, lived to 13 yrs 3 mo. He was on Fortekor 20 mg/ day for about 5 yrs. No symptoms of coughing or heart failure until the last 6 or 7 mo.- last spring
I kept him fit and at a good weight , about 80 lbs.. and with the grace of God, lived to a good age.
Just as a little FYI - most cardiac medications are actually cheaper to buy from a human pharmacy. Benazepril (Fortekor / Lotensin) was a human drug long before it was a veterinary drug. Always check into these things when being prescribed a medication.
I worked for a Vet for years - many double the cost of the drug and put a $10-20 dispensing fee on each refill and each medication.
The manufacturer of Fortekor had a program in Canada where if you provided receipts to them for $200 of this medication, they would reimburse you $40 payable to you and your vet clinic. This did help if you were purchasing this brand. Generic was available occasionally. The meds cost $80 per month and about $40 for the generic .
