Pacemaker Makes Cat's Day

Owned by Diane, CVT

Bethany is a 9 year old spayed female I adopted from the Dumb Friends League back in 1998.  She had been diagnosed with asthma (see Asthma) years ago and has been controlled with an inhaler very well.

At the end of this past January, she started acting weird.  Out of the corner of my eye, I would notice her fall over, or get a “spaced out look.”  At first, it happened so fast that I questioned what I was really seeing.  But I noticed it more often and saw it from the beginning – she’d look off into the distance, sometimes she’d turn her head, she’d fall over and her face would twitch.  After about 10 seconds, she’d snap out of it and be completely normal.  I was able to get some video of it. 

VIDEO CLIP: 

At first, I thought they were seizures due to the facial twitching.  After a normal neurologic exam and normal results from the spinal tap, we tried anticonvulsant drugs.  When these didn’t work, I took her in for a second opinion.  That day, the neurologist was able to hear a heart murmur that no one else had heard.  He suggested we do a cardiac workup before proceeding with an MRI of her brain. 

The next day, I brought her to work with me and we did chest x-rays and an EKG.  The EKG was a bit scary!  There were moments when electrical activity stopped – basically she flat-lined and then her heart would kick back in.  These episodes were not seizures at all, but fainting episodes due to the lack of oxygen to her brain when her heart stopped.  These fainting spells are also known as syncope. 

That night I brought her up to the CSU Veterinary Hospital on an emergency basis so she could be monitored overnight.  They put her on a continuous EKG and were able to see what her heart was doing.  Along with a normal rhythm, she’d display what’s known as 2^nd Degree AV Block and sometimes would be in 3^rd Degree AV Block.  Basically, her heart was not firing the appropriate signals to get her heart to beat correctly.   

PHOTOS: AV Block (TOP), Normal heart rhythm (BOTTOM)

She needed an artificial pacemaker installed to do what her own heart wasn’t doing.  Because her heart itself was healthy and there was no underlying heart disease, I decided to go ahead with the surgery.  She received it in mid-March.  She is a completely new cat!  I have not seen any fainting episodes since.  She is like a kitten again, with more spunk and energy than I have seen in a long time.  She truly is my miracle kitty.  At right, Bethany in recovery

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	Our first story was about Boomer, a ferret owned by Liz S., one of our certified veterinary technicians.  This was written by Liz herself, so people could learn more about ferrets and keep Boomer in your thoughts as he battles his current problems.  Click on Boomer's picture to see his incredible story!