The Pet Tree House - Where Pets Are Family Too : Bailey, An Adorable 9-Year-Old Yorkie Receives a Pacemaker: She Was Developing Congestive Heart Failure The Pet Tree House - Where Pets Are Family Too : Bailey, An Adorable 9-Year-Old Yorkie Receives a Pacemaker: She Was Developing Congestive Heart Failure

Monday, April 6, 2015

Bailey, An Adorable 9-Year-Old Yorkie Receives a Pacemaker: She Was Developing Congestive Heart Failure


Bailey is an absolutely adorable, almost 9-year-old Yorkie, whose brave little heart was in big trouble. She had developed a condition called Third Degree AV (atrioventricular) Block.  

The heart is a muscular pump whose regular beating is controlled by electrical impulses that travel along the nerve pathways of the heart.  In Bailey's case, there was a problem with this pathway that caused her to have an abnormally slow heart rhythm.  

The normal heart rate of a dog ranges from 80-160 beats per minute depending on the size of the dog, their athletic fitness, and their activity level.

Little Bailey's heart was only beating at 40 beats per minute.  This caused her heart to pump inefficiently and because of this she was developing congestive heart failure.  Her family veterinarian, Dr. Wilson of Cedar Grove Animal Hospital, identified the problem and referred Bailey for an evaluation by our AERA board-certified Cardiologist, Dr. Gordon Peddle.  

Dr. Peddle performed an electrocardiogram (ECG) and an echocardiogram.  Based on his findings he recommended that the solution to this problem was to implant a pacemaker to simulate the normal electrical pulses and improve the pumping efficiency of Bailey's heart.

Dr. Peddle and the AERA-AEC Anesthesiologist, Dr. Lydia Love, worked side by side to perform the pacemaker implantation.  Thanks to fluoroscopy there was no need to open Bailey's chest for this procedure.  Instead, the pacemaker lead or wire, was threaded down her jugular vein and the generator (battery) was then buried within the muscles of her neck.  Bailey recovered well post-surgically and has continued to do well.  She was doing so well that it was even possible to discontinue some of her medications.  You can view actual video of this procedure below.


 


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