Good question. So murmurs in cats are not always clinical. Even though we hear a heart murmur in a cat, it doesn't necessarily mean that they have bad heart disease. So it depends on the type of heart disease they have, but many of them can live for many years and have a good quality of life.

An x-ray is a two-dimensional view. It's a big picture, a still image of the chest, and the echocardiogram is a specialized ultrasound of the heart. And so that way, we can look at the inside of the heart to determine the underlying condition of the heart.

Heart murmurs are diagnosed by listening to the heart by a stethoscope.

What would I see in my cat to suspect that he or she has heart disease? Your cat might be lethargic. They may sleep 24 out of the 24 hours instead of 23. Sometimes they don't show any symptoms at all, which is why a physical exam at least once a year is vital for your cat. But your cat may have shortness of breath or open-mouth breathing, which would be some symptoms you might notice.

Good question. Sometimes we do. Cats can be very confusing, and it can be hard to detect heart disease in them. So, we rely on our veterinary cardiologist, but general practitioners like myself can help with that.