No. Fortunately, dogs don’t experience chest pain (because they don’t have coronary artery disease) and don’t have strokes due to heart disease. For dogs with mitral valve disease (the most common cause of cardiac disease) sudden death is also rare. As a general statement, patients that are on correct types and doses of heart medications will have no fluid on their lungs and therefore will feel happy. For a minority of patients there will come a time when the medications are no longer able to keep the lungs clear of fluid. This is a difficult time for owners and vets. If this time comes, we hope that with good communication and accurate information, owners will feel reassured that they have done all that they can for their pet and will feel as though they can make a decision they are at peace with if euthanasia needs to be considered.
