It will be curious to you, but there are some ailments that occur in humans and that can also affect your canine pet. This is the case of stroke in dogs, which can leave them in a very diminished state, so it is very important that you know its causes, its symptoms and how to treat it if it occurs.
stroke in dogs
It is normal, even if you are a pet owner, that you do not know that your dog may have an ailment, suffer from a syndrome or disease, since you have in mind that these are issues that are exclusive to human beings or other species, but it turns out that ignoring this information can have the effect of poorly managing your best friend's eating or physical exercise habits.
Motivated by this reason, we wanted to make this post, so that you become aware of it, and so that you learn that there are pathologies that you did not suspect can affect dogs, but this time we want you to learn about stroke in dogs.
What is a stroke in dogs?
A CVA is defined as the obstruction of the blood flow that is directed towards a specific area of the brain. This causes cerebral oxygenation to be impeded, as a consequence of which the cells of the aforementioned organ will be affected and, in extreme cases, they may stop working.
There are two kinds of stroke in dogs that you have to learn to distinguish so that you can manage the situation in which your pet may find itself more appropriately:
- Ischemic or embolic stroke: you will find yourself facing a case of stroke in ischemic dogs at the moment in which an artery becomes obstructed by a clot or an embolus, which will partially or totally limit the circulation of the blood, which will have the effect of reducing the amount of oxygen that has to irrigate the brain.
- Hemorrhagic stroke: is the one that occurs as a result of the rupture of a blood vessel, which has the effect of a cerebral hemorrhage.
Symptom
The presence of this kind of ailment tends to greatly worry the owner of the dog, because its signs and symptoms that are absolutely characteristic appear suddenly. The neurological symptoms that a pet that has suffered a stroke may exhibit are specifically linked to the area of the brain that has been affected.
These symptoms or signs of a stroke in dogs that usually occur are the following:
- Paralysis.
- Muscular weakness.
- Difficulty maintaining correct posture.
- Head turns.
- Vestibular syndrome.
An excellent sign for the dog owner is that in embolic strokes in dogs, the symptoms appear abruptly and immediately reach their most alarming expression, as opposed to hemorrhagic strokes in dogs, in which the normal thing is that the ailment have a delayed onset and development.
Causes
There are multiple causes that can give rise to this kind of ailment, both in dogs and in humans. Any condition that may be capable of producing a blood clot that is relevant enough to interrupt blood flow to the brain may be the immediate cause of stroke in dogs. Among the causes that can most frequently be found are:
- Neoplasms: it is defined as abnormal tissue formations, which may have a malignant or benign tumor origin. A neoplasm may be capable of causing both an obstruction and clots that can travel through the bloodstream and compromise oxygenation of the brain.
- Endocarditis: these are conditions of the pericardium, which can normally become a bacterial infection, which can probably cause the appearance of clots that end up preventing the flow of blood in the brain in the effective way that is required, having as an effect that a stroke occurs in dogs.
- Migration or embolus of parasites: it is the case that some classes of parasites, such as dirofilaria or heartworm, may be able to migrate taking advantage of the bloodstream or form an embolus, in the event that they manage to group together , causing an obstruction in the path of blood that has to flow to the brain.
- Formation of post-surgical clots: great care must be taken after a dog has undergone a surgical procedure, because on some occasions, blood clots usually occur after the dog has been operated on, in the post-operative period.
- von Willebrand's disease: it is a hematological ailment that delays coagulation, due to the absence of some proteins in the blood. This ailment is capable of favoring the appearance of a hemorrhagic stroke in dogs.
- Thrombocytopenia: in this case we are referring to a low number of platelets in dogs, which is likely to have the effect of a stroke in hemorrhagic dogs, because the coagulation of the animal is compromised. This ailment usually occurs as a result of a disease that is widespread among dogs, called canine ehrlichiosis, which sometimes causes the appearance of thrombocytopenia.
- Arterial hypertension: this usually occurs in dogs that normally have higher than normal blood pressure values, because these pets are patients with a high risk of suffering a stroke in dogs. Within this same class of ailment, you will find that there are also chronic kidney diseases or arteriosclerosis, since they are pathologies that are linked to high blood pressure.
Diagnosis
As it is a condition that is very alarming and that has several probable causes that can trigger it, the veterinary specialist is always obliged to carry out all or almost all the complementary tests that may be available, in order to collect as much information as possible. can.
The first thing to do is take your pet to the veterinarian, so that he can diagnose the type of stroke in dogs that your dog suffers from, and the first sign about the possibility of this presumptive diagnosis will be obtained in the anamnesis. However, if you have many suspicions, you will have to carry out a complementary evaluation, which is what is recommended in those cases to be able to definitively diagnose a stroke in dogs, is that a computed tomography be done.
When investigating the causes of a possible stroke in dogs, the veterinary specialist must also carry out a hematology, blood chemistry and urinalysis on your dog, to try to accumulate as much relevant information as possible, in which do a platelet count.
A blood culture should never be considered superfluous, particularly when it is desired to rule out a septic embolus of parasites. Likewise, another common practice is to measure the dog's blood clotting times and perform endocrinological tests, so that the veterinarian can get an idea of the cause of stroke in dogs.
Mandatory, the veterinarian will order hemodynamic tests to be done on the dog, such as blood pressure measurement, an echocardiogram and an electrocardiogram, as well as a series of X-rays and ultrasounds, with which will be ruled out if there is any kind of neoplasm, which may be the origin of stroke in dogs.
Treatment for stroke in dogs
It is a disease that does not have a specific treatment so that it can be reversed. In most cases, the therapy that tends to be carried out is supportive, while it is possible to diagnose in a concrete way the kind of process that the dog is going through. These support therapies, in this case, are not a protocol and will have to be adapted to each patient, according to the needs that it requires to maintain the dog.
The best way to avoid this kind of ailments in your dog is to prevent them, so that these events do not occur. The owner of a dog that has survived a stroke in dogs, has to take into account the adoption of certain measures that are required, as well as improve the eating habits of your pet, in order to minimize the chances that an event similar to happen again.
In the same way, the owner of a puppy that has not suffered from this ailment has an obligation to obtain information, so that he is able to provide his pet with the best possible quality of life.
That is why an adequate and balanced diet, frequent exercise and regular routine visits to the veterinarian are at the base of the habits that you have to acquire and that may save your pet's life. In fact, one of the first recommendations that we give you is that you supply your dog with natural feed of the best quality that exists for dogs.
Can our pet recover from a stroke?
The possibility of recovery of a dog that has suffered this ailment will have at its base the area of the brain that may have been affected by the stroke, as well as the type of stroke in dogs and how serious the damage to the brain cells. Ischemic strokes in dogs will have a better prognosis, while hemorrhagic strokes in dogs will normally have a very serious and dark prognosis.
In several cases, when we are referring to a dog that has been able to recover, it is normal to observe that permanent sequelae will remain, although if it is a benign stroke in dogs or if the puppy was lucky enough to have the early specialized care, it may be completely back to normal.
We remind you that this is an article that only intends to give you information. We do not intend to pass for specialists or try to recommend veterinary treatment, nor do we make any kind of diagnosis. What we are always going to recommend is that you take your pet to the veterinary specialist, at any sign that your pet may be suffering from some kind of ailment or discomfort.
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