Around 3.1 million dogs in America suffer from heart ailments each year. Sometimes you may not even come to know that the dog has heart disease until there is appearance of some kind of symptom or an unexpected death which might not have any explanation. Dogs often get heart ailment as they turn old. Heart diseases in dogs are similar to that of humans and can also cause a potential heat failure.

There are different types of heart disease in dogs and most of them have common symptoms. Presence of a heart disease in dogs can often lead to shortened life span and poor prognosis. Though there are several treatments available these days but they may not be able to completely cure the disease, they might be able to relieve you off some of the symptoms.

There are generally two types of heart disease that are common in canine breeds:

1.    Congestive heart failure

2.    Heartworm Diseases

In Congestive heart failure, either the left or the right side or sometimes even both sides of the heart stops to work. In Heartworm diseases, the worms invade the valve of heart through blood. Worms appear in the blood as a result of some mosquito bite. Another ailment that has been found common on dogs is cardiomyopathy. In this the muscles of the heart becomes enlarged and stops to work efficiently.

Common symptoms associated with all kinds of heart diseases are fluid retention, coughing, slower or faster heart rate, lethargy, weakness and weight loss. Sometimes dogs may not show any symptoms before the collapse. All you should do is regularly visit your veterinarian and he may recommend prevention from heart worm diseases. Regular Electrocardiogram tests of old dogs can ensure a good and healthy condition.

You can also employ prevention as a strategy to protect your dog from non-congenital heart diseases. Well balanced diet, regular heart checkups, regular weight monitoring and moderate exercises are must to keep your dog heart in good shape. The fact is once your dog gets the disease, the symptoms can be minimized using few medications, but they cannot be completely eliminated. The disease in itself is quite fatal.