for pet parents and veterinarians to
š¶ Listen to the cat or dog heart murmur and rhythm
š± Count the cat or dog heart rate
Pets can not speak like humans. They rely on us to learn their health conditions. Pets may suffer more from diseases than humans if the sickness is not found timely. Itās helpful to monitor your petās vital signs and heart rhythms just in case your pet is ever in distress. For example, Stemoscope can work as a dog heart rate monitor or cat heart rate monitor. You will be able to use these data as a baseline of what is ānormalā for your pet in case of an accident or illness and even help your veterinarian diagnose on the visit. Sometimes, when your pets are on medication, monitoring their vital signs at home can help your veterinarian learn the effectiveness of the treatment. Sometimes, you may choose to record and email these data to your vets in the App for a remote diagnosis.
Heart rate is one of the vital signs that reflects the health conditions. It is very difficult to count the heart rate of a cat or a dog at home. Stemoscope makes it much easier.
Irregular heartbeat can be easily recognized by our ears. It may indicate some health conditions. Catching the abnormality can trigger early diagnosis.
Heart murmur in dogs and cats is a symptom that can be associated with heart diseases. You may detect the murmur by yourself or ask your vet to listen remotely.
Respiratory rate is one of the vital signs too. You may count it through a Stemoscope placed firmly on your pet's chest. You may also check if the breath sounds are normal.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM, enlarged heart muscle) is a very common disease in cats. It is the major cause of heart failure in cats. Most cats get this disease between the ages of 4 and 8. 55% of cats with HCM present with no symptoms at all. Cats are notoriously good at taking it easy on themselves, and they hide it when they don't feel well. Unfortunately, a fair number cats are discovered to have HCM when they present to the veterinarian already in congestive heart failure. An even more upsetting scenario is the discovery that a cat has HCM when it presents as an emergency with sudden painful hind limb paralysis. However, some abnormality can be detected with a stethoscope, such as a heart murmur and/or an abnormal rhythm.
Chronic degenerative valve disease (CVD) is very common in dogs and increases in prevalence with age. According to data collected by primary care practices, around 10% of dogs have CVD. Dogs that weigh less than 40 pounds (18 Kg) are at higher risk of developing such disease. However, nearly all older dogs will develop some degree of valvular degeneration leading to a heart murmur. The first signs typically noted by owners include difficulty breathing and coughing. Unfortunately, by the time these symptoms are evident, your dogs are already in the advanced stages of such heart disease. The effectiveness of treatment is much greater when you catch the disease at an early stage. The Stemoscope can help you detect heart murmurs at the earliest.
The Stemoscope Wearable Kit comes with a short and a long strap, suitable for small and big pet respectively. Wearing the Stemoscope on your pet with the strap can eliminate the noise induced by the frictions (hair rubbing) between the Stemoscope and the pet and let your hear very clean and clear sounds.
Some pets can get nervous when they see a veterinarian. It can be difficult for the veterinarian to listen to a nervous panting dog or purring cat. Heart murmurs in cats are due to the excitement of the veterinary visit (physiologic heart murmurs) or due to underlying heart disease. It is obvious that pets are better off psychosocially at home than in the hospital. Record the sounds at home and play them to your veterinarian during the visit. Your veterinarian will be amazed by the superb sound quality!
Either a dog's or a cat's heartbeat sounds, or a cat's purring sounds, are very soothing and comforting. Why not simply tune in with your warm cuddly pet and relax yourself?