What is Cardiac Arrest?
A very small percentage of canines who fall ill due to cardiac arrest recover. The survival rate is less than 10%. If a dog suffers cardiac arrest while under anesthesia, the survival rate is a bit higher due to the fact that immediate intervention is available, and aids like oxygen and catheterization are already in place. Lack of oxygen to the brain results in brain death within four to six minutes without cardiopulmonary resuscitation CPR. There are three steps to CPR, basic life support, advanced life support and post-resuscitative care. These three components of revival include clearing the airway, giving fluid support and monitoring recovery. If your pet goes into cardiac arrest at home, chances of recovery are very slim.
Cardiac arrest, also known as cardiopulmonary arrest, is defined as the failure of the respiratory and circulatory systems in an acute manner. Resuscitation of your pet will depend on factors such as length of time under arrest before intervention and underlying cause of the event.
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Symptoms of Cardiac Arrest in Dogs
The symptoms of cardiac arrest can be very dramatic. Recognizing the signs and acting on them immediately is crucial. When a pet is under veterinary care, in particular under anesthesia, the monitoring of vital signs can alert the veterinary team to the incidence of cardiac arrest. Signs that you may see if the episode occurs at home are:
- Breathing abnormalities - difficulty breathing, decreased breathing, and respiratory distress
- Mucus membranes become white or blue due to lack of oxygen
- Pupils are dilated
- Obvious distress could be vocalized by your dog
- Collapse
- No response of any kind
Signs that are not obvious without the proper medical aids (like a stethoscope) are irregular heart beat, lack of heart sounds, changes in heart rate, and no pulse.
Causes of Cardiac Arrest in Dogs
Cardiac arrest in canines can occur due to many circumstances. From end-stage disease, to arrhythmias, to different types of cancer, cardiopulmonary arrest is an unfortunate complication of many canine illnesses.
- Anesthetic error (for example overdose of anesthetic during surgery)
- Anesthetic equipment failure
- Ventricular flutter
- Ventricular fibrillation
- Airway obstruction
- Electrical impulses to the vagal nerve
- Asystole
- Sinus bradycardia
- Decreased blood circulation
- Severe trauma such as to the chest
- Neoplasia
- Low oxygen levels
- Severe abnormalities of electrolytes
- Congenital heart failure
Diagnosis of Cardiac Arrest in Dogs
The presence of a pulse, the pattern of the respiratory action, and the ability of your pet to respond are main factors when checking for cardiac arrest. After assessing a cardiac arrest, the veterinary team, whether during a surgical procedure or evaluating an emergency admittance, will follow the ABC steps of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, in order to determine the status of your dog and attempt revival. Ensuring the airway is clear, ventilation with 100% oxygen through intubation, and compression to re-establish circulation of blood are the three steps normally followed.
Treatment of Cardiac Arrest in Dogs
Recovery from cardiac arrest is contingent on prompt action. The goal will be to regain a beating heart and thus, normal function for your pet.
Basic life support is stage one of CPR
- Cleaning obstruction from airway if needed
- A tracheotomy could be necessary
- After clearing the airway, an endotracheal tube is placed
- Next is to restart the heart by chest compression, open-chest internal cardiac massage or defibrillation
Advanced life support is stage two
- Fluid resuscitation is carefully given depending on the stability of the pet
- An IV catheter or endotracheal tube are used for emergency medication
- An ECG will determine the type of arrhythmia (such as asystole or pulseless electrical activity for example), which guides the treatment
Post-resuscitative care is the third stage
- If your pet has been successfully resuscitated he will receive continued supportive care and will be assessed for complications like kidney and brain damage
If your pet has gone into cardiac arrest while you are at home, panic and distress on your part can make resuscitation difficult. Having a knowledge of pet CPR is something all pet owners could benefit from, but is rarely learned. However, if you have assistance and know for certain that your pet is in cardiac arrest you must clear the airway and begin chest compressions. 30 compressions (using one hand for a small dog and two hands for a medium to large dog) should be given and then two breaths into the nostrils. Again 30 compressions and two breaths. Continue. This is a very basic way to attempt CPR, with no guarantee of success. If you are fortunate, your pet may begin breathing again, or you may attempt to continue the CPR while someone drives to the emergency clinic. It is very important to note that CPR can be extremely dangerous for your pet if you have mistakenly identified his collapse as a cardiac arrest.
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Recovery of Cardiac Arrest in Dogs
Even under the care of a veterinarian, the survival rate of a canine cardiac arrest is very low. Dogs who experience respiratory arrest as opposed to cardiopulmonary arrest have a better chance of survival, as do canine family members who go into cardiac arrest while under anesthesia. The survival of a dog with this condition will be highly contingent on how long he was in an arrested state, his condition when the event occurred, his age, and what exactly the underlying cause of the cardiac arrest was.
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Cardiac Arrest Questions and Advice from Veterinary Professionals
Maltese
Peanut
6 Years
1 found this helpful
1 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Sleeps A Lot....Coughing
My 6 yr old ..4 lb Maltese dog went into cardiac arrest during a dental cleaning and extractions. They revived him and said I should have ultrasound done to determine heart issues. I wonder if this is necessary.....is it possible they gave him too much anaesthetic and his heart is ok or should I have the ultrasound done? He seems the same as before the cleaning but has always had occasional episodes where he seems to be straining to breathe and makes coughing sounds for about 3 minutes. It happens especially when he is excited.
Jan. 10, 2018
Answered by Dr. Michele K. DVM
1 Recommendations
Thank you for your email. Without knowing more about his specific situation, I cannot comment on the type of anesthetic drugs that were used, but it is quite uncommon for dogs to experience cardiac arrest during routine dental cleanings. If your veterinarian is recommending a cardiac ultrasound, I'd probably follow their advice, and many anatomic abnormalities can be present inside the heart, and we don't know about them until something happens. If your veterinarian resuscitated Peanut after cardiac arrest, that is impressive and would tend to show that they have his best interests at heart.
Jan. 10, 2018
My 11 year old Shih Tzu also went into sudden cardiac arrest less than 48 hours ago during her dental. Preoperative medication was only a light dose of Valium, anesthesia the same as people get. Her cardiac rhythm was totally normal, no advanced warning of the arrest. My vet is an emergency and trauma specialist as well as an internist. When I got the call they had already stopped chest compressions, no cardiac activity, and were breathing for her. Ten minutes went by, my vet called and said she was going to push the drugs for a couple more minutes but wasn’t expecting any results after that long. Twenty minutes went by till she called me again, she had her back! As a breeder with 40 years in the breed who also shows, I have a very close relationship with all the vets and techs in the office. They are crazy about my dogs, love them as much as I do. My vet simply refused to give up and thank god she did. Two hours after the arrest she sent me a text with Chance’s picture. She was sitting up in the cage giving everyone her 4pm evil eye, the look I get when it’s slightly past her normal dinner time. She was kept overnight on fluids and put in the oxygen kennel. There were no broken ribs from CPR but significant pulmonary conntusions. I brought her home last night. Breathing is a bit labored as expected right now but gums are pink. Best of all she doesn’t seem to have lost any mentation. Very unusual to have this outcome after being down that long, I think it’s a miracle. She’s going back in for a check this afternoon. She only coughs and gags when she starts to get active.
Feb. 18, 2018
Leanne R.
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Chihuahua
Peanut
13 Years
2 found this helpful
2 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Cardiac Arrest/Syncope
My dog passed out, i gave him oxygen got him to the ER and seemed ok then arrested. He had end stage heart disease and arrhythmia. He had a rapid heartbeat for a couple of days, but nothing really strange until he passed out. He was not on melexetine yet, but when he arrested if he would have been brought back would melexetine have really helped him then? He went so fast i had no time to process what to do, bring him back once or let him go. He ended up passing. With as bad as his heart was to have gotten another year and a half i felt blessed, but still was not ready to let go. If i was able to bring him back would it have really made any difference? Trying to cope with the loss.
Nov. 22, 2017
2 Recommendations
These questions are normal after the loss of a loved one, but it isn’t possible for me to say whether drug A, B or C would have made any different to Peanut as I didn’t examine Peanut or see how he was in general. You shouldn’t be thinking about all the what if’s because unfortunately nothing will change; I am sure you treasure those extra eighteen months you had together but I am unable to help you with your question due to all the variables. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
Nov. 22, 2017
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Yorkshire Terrier
Shelly
12 years
1 found this helpful
1 found this helpful
Shelly started panting and coughing . We took her to the emergency . They said she had heart disease and her lungs were filling with fluid. Dr proceeded to drain her lungs . They had to resuscitate her . The Dr asked if needed to resuscitate a second time would we approve . We said no. We didn't want her to suffer. Now I'm wondering if we should of. What would of been her chances of recovering if we did and would she of been the same ? How much more time would she of had left ? Would it of been a long road ahead with Dr and medication? 3 months before she had an MRI because she had surgery in her neck because of a bulging disc. Wouldn't severe heart disease showed up ? If we caught it early I believe we could of prevented the outcome. Thank you
Oct. 3, 2017
1 Recommendations
MRI’s are expensive and only the area of interest is usually examined, not the whole body; whereas x-ray is cheap and a Yorkie can probably fit on one image (I know mine can). Heart disease may be precipitated by various factors and the specific type and etiology behind (valve issues, dilation, contractility etc…). There are many variables and I cannot say whether you should have fought to resuscitate her or not; you made the right decision at the time with the information presented to you, resuscitation may have been futile the second or third time - if she had pulled through she likely would have required life long medication and regular visits to her Veterinarian for checkups. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
Oct. 3, 2017
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Cardiac Arrest Average Cost
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Average Cost
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