I have a large dog that will soon be ten years old.
During an examination in mid-June of this year, he was diagnosed with a light case of mitral valve insufficiency, and the vet advised me to give him an ACE inhibitor, which I did, from July 7 to November 13.
He was examined in the second week after I began giving him the prescribed medicine, and his heart murmur had disappeared. He continued to take the medicine for four more months.
Then the vet told me I might not need to give it to him anymore, and I was puzzled.
At the start, I had been warned that once you start taking an ACE inhibitor, you have to keep taking it for the rest of your life, so I wondered if the vet's comment could be right.
I wasn't worried, having been told that ACE inhibitors don't have any side effects. However, while taking the medicine, our dog experienced a sudden swelling in his leg, as your home page explained about the side effects of ACE inhibitors; so, although I was not yet completely convinced, I stopped giving the ACE inhibitor to my dog.
After that, I wanted to support his heart with natural things with no side effects, so I gave him an herbal liquid that was said to be good for the heart; but he developed a cough, which had not happened before.
I became worried and took him to our vet yesterday, and the heart murmur was still slightly audible.
Well, now that he has this cough that he didn't have before, the vet advised me to start giving him the ACE inhibitor again. However, he said, "If a dog stops taking it for several months, then begins taking the same ACE inhibitor again, I can't say whether it will be as effective as it was in the beginning." That made me a bit uneasy.
Before starting him again on the ACE inhibitor, I decided to consult you about giving him Pinfenon; hence this email.
The vet gave me some pills of Cinbenon, an ACE inhibitor, but I haven't given them to my dog yet. If I were to start giving him Pinfenon, what dosage would I use, considering the present situation?
I would appreciate your assistance.
○○Kumi
~ A later message~
I have received my order of Pinfenon.
Thank you for your concern.
On the fourth day after starting my dear dog on Pinfenon, I increased the dosage to four pills each morning and night. His cough has gradually improved, but...
Around the second or third week, he had a high fever and shortness of breath. I thought it might be a side effect of the ACE inhibitor and took him to the Ocean Pet Hospital, which you had recommended.
It turned out that the symptoms were not side effects of the ACE inhibitor.
The hospital issued an antibiotic, which resolved the symptoms.
Now my dog does hardly any coughing and is feeling well.
I am also giving Pinfenon to the two elderly cats in our home. Is it helping them?
They are well and somehow seem to have been rejuvenated.
○○Kumiko