We do rely on our board-certified cardiologists, and we offer that referral. But we can detect many problems, and by doing the limited echos here, we can provide a lot of information on why the pet has heart disease, what type of heart disease, and start the medication to help improve that quality of life.

A board-certified cardiologist is a veterinarian that is specialized in cardiology. So they have gone to school a few extra years, and they have passed a test that certifies them in that specialty.

It can vary, depending on the cause of heart disease. But we can treat dog heart issues with medication similar to what you and I use.

The echocardiogram is an ultrasound of the heart. An x-ray is a two-dimensional view or picture of the heart or of the chest. In contrast, the echocardiogram is a more specialized view of the heart; it can detect the heart's motion and look at chamber sizes and blood flow through the heart.

The primary way we hear them is with our stethoscope, and then we can do a test with an echocardiogram to figure out why that murmur is present.