It doesn’t seem too concerning when a dog is coughing – but heart disease on the other hand, is. So how are these two seemingly much different conditions connected? While not all coughs in dogs are serious, sometimes a coughing dog may have heart disease. This is because heart disease usually causes symptoms of coughing in dogs when it becomes advanced, and especially when it progresses into congestive heart failure.

How Does Heart Disease in Dogs Cause Coughing?

The most common cause of heart disease in dogs is called Myxomatous Mitral Valve Dysplasia. This is a thickening of the valve between the main chambers on the left side of the heart that circulate the blood from the lungs (from the heart’s atria) to the body (to the heart’s ventricle). Over time, the valves become irregularly shaped and knobby, which prevents them from moving and closing properly. As a result, some of the blood moves backward instead of forward. The atria then has to grow bigger to accept more blood and maintain the same forward movement of blood. As the atria becomes larger, it puts more pressure on the main airway and lungs, which can cause the dog to start coughing.

How Does Congestive Heart Failure in Dogs Cause Coughing?

Eventually, the atria cannot get any bigger and blood starts to pool, allowing fluid from the blood vessels to leak into the tissues of the dog’s lung. This is called edema of the lungs, which also causes coughing in dogs with heart disease. When the dog has edema of the lungs because of heart disease, this is called congestive heart failure.

What To Do If Your Dog Is Coughing / Has Heart Disease

If you think your dog is coughing because of heart disease or congestive heart failure, it is important to make an appointment with a qualified veterinarian that has knowledge and experience with the condition. There are treatments available that can help and the sooner your dog has veterinary care, the sooner they can be back out enjoying life!

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References:

Olsen et al. (2010). Acquired Valvular Heart Disease (p. 1299-1302): Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine (7th Ed.). Saunders Elselvier, St. Louis, MO.

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