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My pet has heart disease – Isn’t anesthesia too risky?

“My pet has heart disease. Isn’t anesthesia too risky?” That’s a very common and completely valid concern from pet parents. Pets are family, and it’s natural to worry about putting them under anesthesia, especially if they have a heart condition. But does heart disease mean your furry friend can’t have anesthesia? Not necessarily. It depends on the […]

Minimally Invasive Surgery to Treat Patent Ductus Arteriosus in Dogs

Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is a congenital heart defect in which a fetal blood vessel, the ductus arteriosus, fails to close after birth. This results in abnormal blood flow between the aorta and pulmonary artery, increasing the heart’s workload and potentially leading to heart failure. If left untreated, dogs with hemodynamically severe PDA usually do not […]

Ventricular Septal Defect in Cats

Some kittens are born with a hole in their heart, known as a ventricular septal defect (VSD). This causes the lungs to receive excess blood from the left side of the heart, which would normally be distributed throughout the body. If the hole is large, it causes severe left heart dilation and heart failure. […]

The Use of Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Two Poodle Dogs with Pulmonary Hypertension Secondary to Myxomatous Mitral Valve Disease

Our team recently published an article titled “The Use of Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells (AD-MSCs) in Two Poodle Dogs with Pulmonary Hypertension (PH) Secondary to Myxomatous Mitral Valve Disease (MMVD)” in Jurnal Veterinar Malaysia. This is the first reported case in veterinary literature that explores the therapeutic potential of stem cells for treating PH due […]

Malaysia’s First Successful V-Clamp Surgery In a Dog

On 8th December 2024, our team performed Malaysia’s first successful V-clamp surgery on a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. The dog, named Oscar, had been diagnosed with advanced-stage B2 myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD) in June 2024. Since his diagnosis, he had been taking pimobendan, benazepril, and spironolactone to manage the disease. Understanding the severity of […]

Trans-Esophageal Echocardiography (TEE)

Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is a type of heart ultrasound that gives veterinarians or cardiologists a very detailed view of a pet’s heart. Unlike regular heart ultrasounds, where the probe is placed on the chest, TEE involves inserting a small probe into the pet’s esophagus (the tube connecting the throat and stomach). This enables the examiners […]

Thank You

31st August 2024 marks five years since I returned to Malaysia in 2019 after completing my PhD studies, and one year since establishing my main practice in Kota Damansara. As I reflect on this journey, my heart is filled with deep gratitude for the incredible people who have stood by me, offering their unwavering support […]

DCM and Elvis

Elvis is a 5-year-old Doberman. When he was first presented, he had been treated with pimobendan for presumed dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) by a preceding veterinarian. What is DCM? Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a type of heart muscle disease common in large breed dogs. In DCM, the heart muscle weakens and becomes dilated, resulting in reduced […]

Successful heartworm removal surgery

Recently, our team performed surgery to remove heartworms from a local dog. The 12-year-old dog presented with fainting on exertion (syncope), which was attributable to severe pulmonary hypertension (increased lung pressure). Pulmonary hypertension is a common condition secondary to heartworm disease. Our challenges remained: Mitigation: Using echocardiography and fluoroscopy, we removed […]

About Heartworm Disease in Dogs

My dog is old, so I stopped giving heartworm prevention. Dr Anthony: Not often, but occasionally, I smirk helplessly when my clients say that they have stopped giving heartworm prevention to their old dogs. As we all know, heartworm disease is transmitted by mosquitoes. Being old does not mean that these blood-sucking insects will spare […]

The Story of Vin Vin

Vin Vin is a miniature schnauzer. He was missing for a few months. When he was found by his owner, he was given heartworm preventive medication. Later, he showed difficulty breathing and coughing. His primary veterinarian referred him to me for further investigation. Chest X-rays, echocardiography, blood tests, and a heartworm test were performed. The […]

The story of Ang Pao

Ang Pao was merely 13 weeks old during the first examination, and she weighed only 1.3 kilograms. She was experiencing difficulty breathing due to pulmonary edema. After the examination, it was discovered that she had patent ductus arteriosus (PDA), one of the congenital heart diseases. Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is a relatively common congenital heart […]

Facts about Diuretics

Diuretics are also known as “water pills” and are used to treat pulmonary edema (lung congestion) caused by heart failure. In Malaysia, the common diuretic is “furosemide.” In recent years, “torasemide” has also begun to attract the attention of veterinarians. Furosemide has a duration of action of about 6 hours in the body and needs […]

Holter versus ECG

Holter’s monitoring and electrocardiogram (ECG) both record the heart’s electrical activity. However, unlike a standard ECG, the Holter’s monitor can continuously record the pet’s heart’s electrical activity for an extended period (24-48 hours). In contrast, a standard ECG is generally used to record the heart’s electrical activity for a few minutes. Both are used to […]

Understanding MMVD and treatments in layman’s terms

MMVD stands for Myxomatous Mitral Valve Disease, also known as degenerative mitral valve disease. The exact cause of MMVD is still unknown, but we do know that it commonly affects small to medium breed dogs. Certain breeds, such as Cavalier King Charles spaniels, Dachshunds, and Chihuahuas, can develop MMVD at a younger age, suggesting a […]

V-clamp surgery training for MMVD

Great news for all dog owners in Malaysia! Our team underwent intensive training on mitral valve clamp surgery in China. This procedure involves minimally invasive surgery that doesn’t require a bypass machine or stopping the heart, aiming to reduce the severity of mitral regurgitation. After the surgery, the dogs may not require any cardiac medications. […]

Prevalence of heart failure among different common dog breeds

The graph below depicts the prevalence of heart failure due to MMVD among different dog breeds at Shinzō Clinic. Prevalence refers to the number of dogs within each breed examined by us that were found to succumb to heart failure. Breeds such as the miniature pinscher, chihuahua, and cavalier King Charles spaniel are the top […]

Dog breeds by percentage at Shinzō

This pie chart illustrates the distribution of dog breeds by percentage, which were presented for cardiac evaluation at our clinic. A total of 1003 dogs were seen by us. The most common breed is the Poodle, followed by the Shih Tzu, Pomeranian, and Miniature Schnauzer. Please note that not all dogs had heart disease. This […]

Survival of dogs diagnosed with stage C MMVD

After a dog is diagnosed with stage C MMVD (heart failure stage), how long can it survive? In the literature, a median survival of 9-15 months is reported in other countries. In Malaysia’s context, in a preliminary study by Shinzō, 30 dogs diagnosed and treated by us survived for approximately 366.6 days, or about 1 […]

Common dog breeds diagnosed with heart failure due to MMVD by Shinzō

If you’re wondering, in our clinic, what the common dog breeds are that succumbed to heart failure due to myxomatous mitral valve disease, this graph explains it all. In a total of 61 dogs, Poodle is the most represented (33%), followed by Miniature Schnauzer (16%), Shih Tzu (11%), and Pomeranian (8%). (Please note that this […]