[Gpdd] Health-Heart Murmur

[Shauna Osteen]

Hello,
I was just wondering if anyone out there has experience with guinea pigs
with heart murmurs. I was just at the vets office with my new piggie Willow
and our vet discovered a murmur. We were there because she was limping due
to a sprain in one of her front paws from crazy running and popcorning in
her new home! Our vet said that the murmur doesn't seem to be a concern at
this point because Willow is active, eating & drinking appropriately and she
is actually a little on the chunky side. We have only had her for a little
over 3 weeks, as we adopted her and her sister Maple from the local refuge
league. They are about a year old. She told me to look out for signs of
congestive heart failure, but considering she is fully grown and otherwise
very healthy we don't need to be overly concerned.  She also said we can
take her to a veterinary cardiologist in Boston if we wanted to get a better
look at her heart. I am of course weighing the pros and cons of taking her
now to the cardiologist because Boston is about 3 hours away from where I
live and the cost could be between $250-$500. I am more than willing to pay
and drive, but I don't want to cause unnecessary stress to her if she is
still feeling okay, besides the sprained paw. I am going to call my vet
later for further information about treatments and such just to be prepared,
but I would certainly love to hear any first hand experience from other
guinea pig parents. Thanks so much!

~Shauna

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