CARDIOVASCULAR

• Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)
• Heartworm Disease
• Valvular Disease (see Congestive Heart Failure)
• Cardiomyopathy
• Valvular Endocarditis (see Congestive Heart Failure)

Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)

Species affected: All
Background: Any condition in which the heart is unable to pump the blood through the circulatory system adequately to meet the metabolic needs of the patient is considered CHF. This disease is more common in older animals but can occur in young animals who have heart damage or congenital disorders. It also occurs secondary to heartworm disease, lung disease, valvular disease or wasting of the myocardium.
Symptoms: Pulmonary edema and coughing or dyspnea, ascites, exercise intolerance, and collapse. In horses, coughing is not generally heard, however, extreme exercise intolerance is usually noticed.
Diagnostics: Cardiovascular workup, radiology, echocardiography and EKG.
Special Notes: CHF is not uncommon in dogs and cats, but stems from differing disease processes. Dogs commonly develop CHF secondary to valvular disease, backward failure due to lung disease and heartworms, congenital outflow obstructions and other abnormalities, and dilated cardiomyopathy. Cats commonly develop CHF secondary to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and to a lesser extent, dilated cardiomyopathy and restrictive cardiomyopathy. Vascular disease such as atherosclerosis is extremely rare in dogs and cats. CHF also occurs in some older horses. CHF also occurs in some older horses.
Principles for Supplementation: Improve myocardial function with antioxidants, improve oxygenation and blood flow to myocardium.

CANINE AND FELINE PRODUCTS

Therapeutics:	Dosage:	Mechanism/Purpose:
Bio-Cardio9	Cats 1/2 capsule, sid	Improves myocardial function; decreases oxidative stress.
	Dogs 2 capsules/50 lbs, bid
Chinese Herbal Recovery9	Cats 1-2 pills, bid	Improves qi and blood flow, boosts kidney yang.
	Dogs 5 pills/50 lbs, bid
Co-Q109	Dogs 20mg/kg* *use in dilated cardiomyopathy	Improves myocardial function oxygenation of cardiac muscle.
Forskolin extract (Coleus forskolii)9	Cats 5-10 mg, bid	Increases cyclic AMP.
	Dogs 10-50 mg, bid
Small Animal Antioxidant9	Cats 1/2 capsule, sid	Antioxidant, decreases oxidative stress.
	Dogs 2 capsules/50 lbs/day
Super EPA9	Cats 1/2 capsule, sid	Fish oil has been shown to decrease cytokines cachexia, and improve survival in CHF dogs.
	Dogs 2 capsule/50 lbs/day
Taurine9	Cats 1 capsule, sid	Essential nutrient for cats and dogs.
	Dogs 1 capsule/50 lbs/day

EQUINE PRODUCTS

Therapeutics:Dosage:	Mechanism/Purpose:
Bio-Cardio98-12 capsules, sid	Improves and modulates cardiac activity.
Co-Q-10096 capsules, sid or bid	Improves oxygenation of cardiac muscle.
Equine Antioxidant91 scoop, bid	Antioxidant.
Flax/Hemp Oil3 tablespoons, sid	Stabilizes membranes.

Heartworm Disease

Species affected: Dogs, primarily (though the number of affected cats is increasing)
Background: A parasitic disease spread by mosquitoes. Heart failure can develop when mature worms (5-9" in length) obstruct the heart.
Symptoms: A characteristic deep, moist cough, lethargy and weakness.
Diagnostics: Cardiac workup, radiology, echocardiography and EKG, blood tests.
Special Notes: Prevention includes decreasing contact with mosquitoes, herbal repellents and chemical filaracides.
Principles for Supplementation: Support myocardial function, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant action to help heal the myocardium and support the liver while more toxic compounds are used to eliminate the parasite.

CANINE AND FELINE PRODUCTS

Therapeutics:	Dosage:	Mechanism/Purpose:
Bio-Cardio9	Cats 1/2 capsule, sid	Improves myocardial function.
	Dogs 2 capsules/50 lbs, bid
Hepagen-C9	Dogs 2 capsules/50 lbs, sid or bid (during therapy if needed)	Supports the liver, helps detoxification pathways.
Hepagen-F9	Cats 1-2 capsules, sid.	Supports the liver.
Oxygenics5	Cats 1/4 tablet, sid	Combination of antioxidants and herbs support liver function; contribute to the formation and use of superoxide dimutase.
	Dog 1/4 - 1 tablet, bid
Small Animal Antioxidant9	Cat 1/2 capsule, sid	Antioxidant.
	Dog 2 capsules/50 lbs, sid
Super EPA9	Cats 1/2 capsule, sid	Anti-inflammatory; may help heal endothelium damaged by heartworms; may contribute anticoagulatory function to help prevent heartworm embolism after treatment.
	Dogs 2 capsules/50 lbs, sid

Cardiomyopathy

Species affected: Dogs, cats
Background: Exists as both a primary or secondary disorder.
Symptoms: Include exercise intolerance, arrhythmias and congestive heart failure. In some cases, symptoms are not evident until cardiovascular stress occurs.
Diagnostics: Confirmed by cardiac workup, radiology, echocardiography and EKG.
Special Notes: Occurs in different forms in different species, all resulting in poor contractile function and cardiac chamber enlargement. In dogs, the idiopathic dilated form of cardiomyopathy is the most common and occurs more frequently in the larger breeds. It can be particularly severe in Dobermans and Boxers. The hypertrophic form is rare in dogs, but common in cats. Secondary forms of cardiomyopathy can stem from nutritional deficiencies, infections, drug reactions, metabolic problems and tumors.
Principles for Supplementation: Depending on its etiology, secondary cardiomyopathy may require a variety of treatments. Taurine and carnitine deficiencies have been documented in some cases. Cats consuming vegetarian diets are usually deficient in these nutrients.

CANINE AND FELINE PRODUCTS

Therapeutics:	Dosage:	Mechanism/Purpose:
Bio-Cardio9	Dogs 2 capsules/50 lbs, bid	Improves myocardial function.
Chinese Herbal Recovery9	Cats 1-2 pills, bid	Improves qi and blood flow.
	Dogs 5 pills/50 lbs, bid
Co-Q10/Lipoquinone9	Cats 30 mg, sid	Cardiac tonic.
	Dogs 100 mg/50lbs
Forskolin extract (Coleus forskolii)9	Cats 5-10 mg, bid	Increases cyclic AMP.
	Dogs 10-15 mg, bid
L-Carnitine9	Cats 1 capsule, sid	Essential nutrient for dogs with cardiomyopathy.
	Dogs 2-6 capsules, sid
Super EPA9	Cats 1/2 capsule, sid	Fish oil has been shown to decrease cytokines, cachexia, and improve survival in CHF dogs.
	Dogs 2 capsules/50 lbs sid
Taurine9	Cats 1 capsule, sid	Essential nutrient for cats and dogs; deficiency may cause cardiomyopathy in cats since they do not make their own taurine.
	Dogs 1 capsule/50 lbs, sid

Valvular Endocarditis (see also Congestive Heart Failure)

Species affected: Dogs, cats
Background: Most commonly occurs secondary to a systemic bacterial infection; more likely to occur if there is pre-existing congenital or chronic damage to the heart and valves. The disease can damage both the valves and the lining of the heart.
Symptoms: Those of valvular damage and congestive heart failure. There may be symptoms associated with an infectious disease, such as fever, cough, purulent discharges, tachycardia, anorexia, as well as positive bacterial culture from the blood (in the case of bacterial infection).
Diagnostics: Confirmed by cardiac workup, radiology, echocardiography and EKG, blood tests.
Special Notes: Treatment should be aggressive.
Principles for Supplementation: Antibacterial herbs, in addition to antibiotics, supportive care, and nutraceuticals, herbs and megavitamins to rebuild the immune system.

CANINE AND FELINE PRODUCTS

Therapeutics:	Dosage:	Mechanism/Purpose:
Bio-Cardio9	Cats 1/2 capsule, sid	Improves myocardial function.
	Dogs 2 capsules/50 lbs, bid
Chinese Herbal Bactolyte9	Cats 1-2 pills, bid	Long term use is safe and effective antibacterial.
	Dogs 5 pills/50 lbs, bid
Immugen9	Cats 1/2 capsule, sid	Optimizes immune functions.
	Dogs 2 capsules/50 lbs, sid

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