GQ offers outpatient echocardiograms for dogs and cats, performed by the experienced sonographers of Dr. Christopher Paige’s team.
What is Veterinary Cardiology?
Veterinary Cardiology specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of canine and feline cardiovascular disease as
well as some pulmonary disease.
The most common diseases of the heart and lungs in pets include:
- Congestive heart failure (CHF):
- Heart muscle disease (Dilated Cardiomyopathy or Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy)
- Valvular disorders
- Congenital heart defects
- Cardiac arrhythmias
- Cardiac tumors
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Pulmonary hypertension (high blood pressure in the lungs
Symptoms of Canine or Feline Heart Disease:
- Weakness
- Exercise intolerance
- Shortness of breath or apparent difficulty in breathing
- Fast breathing at rest (not to be confused with normal panting)
- Collapse
- Fainting spells
- Cough
- Elevated heart rate
What to expect during a Cardiology Consultation
A cardiology consultation starts with a review of your pet’s medical history and test results followed by a combination of the following diagnostic tools, depending on your pet’s needs:
- Blood Pressure Monitoring: Monitoring blood pressure is a noninvasive way to determine if your pet has systemic hypertension.
- Electrocardiography (ECG): An ECG (EKG) evaluates your pet’s heart rhythm. ECGs are diagnostic in cases of
electrical disturbances, which can cause fainting, weakness and shortness of breath. - Echocardiography: An echocardiogram is a noninvasive comprehensive ultrasound that allows us to look at the
chambers of the heart as well as how the blood flows through it.
Following the completion of these diagnostics, a thorough report of the Cardiologists findings is discussed with you and forwarded to your pet’s primary veterinarian for continued medical treatment of cardiac or respiratory disease.
What to expect the day of your pet’s Echocardiogram (ECHO)
We ask all of our Cardiology patients to be dropped off between 7:00am-8:00am so your pet is ready for Dr. Paige’s team of Sonographers. No need to worry about fasting your pet before their appointment. Please stick with their normal routine and give medications as previously prescribed. At GQ, we follow a detailed and thoughtful care plan for every cardiology patient. Here’s what
you can expect:
- Check-in: When you arrive, our front desk team will welcome you and provide you with a short medical history form to complete.
- Brief History: Our cardiology technician will ask a few important questions about your pet’s health, such as whether they’re on a grain-free diet, if they’ve shown any signs of exercise intolerance, and what medications they currently take.
- Vitals & Exam: Your pet will then be brought to our treatment area where we’ll check their vitals, including weight, temperature, heart rate, and respiration rate. Afterward, our on-site ER doctor will perform a full examination from head to tail while listening carefully to their heart and lungs.
- Comfort & Care: Once the exam is complete, we’ll make sure your pet is cozy with a blanket and fresh water while they wait for their echocardiogram.
- Pick-up & Results: As soon as the echocardiogram is finished, we’ll send you a text letting you know your pet is ready to go home. Within 24-48 hours, our ER doctor will give you a call to go over the results and answer any questions that you may have. The full echocardiogram report will then be emailed to both you and your primary veterinarian.
Veterinary Cardiology Apache Junction
