Cat Chat Feline Forum

Hi All,

I created my profile to ask these specific questions about HCM and heart murmurs. My 1 year old cat was diagnosed with both last month and was immediately put on medication for heart rate control. When he was put on medication I received some very poor prognosis information and the cardiologist had said that there was about a 20% chance that the medication would actually help decrease the myopathy. My cat was given a diagnosis of mild myopathy but even then I was told that the medication only works for “some”. We were told that we would try the medication for 6 months and if the myopathy stopped increasing or even decreased it would be the best case scenario and he would just continue to be on the medication for the long term. This was the 20% chance scenario. The more likely version was that the medication would not help and it would be touch and go to see if yearly cardiology visits showed any cause for concern.

Fast forward to today and I took him in to his regular vet to see if the medication dose was properly decreasing the heart rate. To my surprise the medication was helping enough that the heart rate was well under control (144 bpm, 188 before medication) and the murmur was not detectable by auscultation. The vet didn’t seemed surprised and said that murmurs can be “transient”. Obviously we did not measure the myopathy at this visit so I can’t know for sure, but my question is: Has anyone had an experience in a young cat with HCM respond well to having a beta blocker prescribed early? Can you give me a timeline of how your cat did while responding well to the medication? It’s hard to hear that the visit from today went very well and not get excited about a good prognosis for my cat. I don’t want to get my hopes up as we wait until November for a cardio follow up to truly see the results.

Thank you for the information you’ll share!

It sounds to me like your vet is trying their best to manage your response. This article from Cornell explains why your vet isn't jumping for joy at the results from the medication so far https://www.vet.cornell.edu/departments ... iomyopathy

Having a cat with a life-limiting condition, whether it's HCM or kidney failure, doesn't mean they stop living at diagnosis. Until they are in pain or have symptoms that limit their ability to continue normal activity, a cat does not care for our human tests and diagnosis and prognosis - a cat only knows I Feel Well or I Feel Unwell, and Unwell might be anything from a little achey or tired to not wanting to move or eat. Try to keep away from how long he might have and focus on each day, today, notice any signs of unwellness and work with your vet. There is no miracle cure, it's a progressive condition to be managed, and settling down to that as the way things are for the rest of his life will help you to make that life normal and happy for him.

Meant to add - heart murmurs are often mentioned that might not be there. An elevated heart rate can result in the vet hearing a faint echo that isn't necessarily a murmur, just the normal struggle of heart valves trying to cope with the accelerated heartbeat. that's one of many reasons why a murmur might disappear. I've had 4 animals diagnosed with non-existent heart murmurs, the most obvious being our dog who had been out for a 2 hour off-leash walk just before the vet found the murmur, which was not there the following year when we drove straight to the surgery.