James Specialist Veterinary Cardiology

04/09/2025

MEET OUR PATIENT

Bright as a button chihuahua cross Lilly came in to see Andrew recently because of a sudden onset very loud heart murmur. A heart murmur is caused by turbulent blood flow through the heart giving rise to the "whoosh" sound we can hear through our stethoscopes. It is often caused by heart valves that aren't working properly or valves that are not formed properly. ❤

Lilly's echo revealed that she did have an abnormal mitral valve (you can see the thickened leaflets and turbulent colour flow on the echo pictures) but what was unusual was that we identified a flail leaflet tip that vibrated hugely through the cardiac cycle and added to the 6/6 grading for her heart murmur sound. Watch it go in the video!! 😁🫶

Lilly was diagnosed with a stage B1 mitral valve disease but we will see her soon to make sure her flail leaflet isn't causing faster than expected progression 😊 We will get the gravy bones out again to get that tail wagging once more! 🥰

01/09/2025

MEET OUR SURGICAL PATIENT

Here is lovely Pilot who came to see the Team after a loud heart murmur was detected by his primary vets after a sedation. Pilot's investigations revealed a diagnosis of pulmonic stenosis.

Pulmonic stenosis is a congenital condition where there is a narrowing of the pulmonary artery (often at the valve itself) as it leaves the right side of the heart carrying blood to the lungs for oxygenation. When this narrowing is moderate to severe it can cause right sided heart failure. There can also be some ECG changes and rhythm disturbances. Current veterinary evidence recommends balloon valvuloplasty in cases like Pilot to reduce the severity of the stenosis and so lessen the impact on the heart 🫶

Pilot underwent a successful balloon valvuloplasty with Andrew leading the surgery and Callan assisting along with the watchful eye of specialist anaesthetist Miguel. You can see the balloon deployed within the heart on the fluoroscopy picture with the stenosis kinking the balloon slightly. This was overcome with repeated balloon inflation and reduced the stenosis to a mild grade ❤🙌

Pilot recovered well from his anaesthesia and was home with his owners soon after. We shall be monitoring his response to the surgery in the coming weeks 😊

28/08/2025

MEET OUR PATIENT

Introducing the very friendly Bobby to you all 😍

Bobby came to see Callan after a heart murmur was heard by his primary vets. He was such an amazing patient patient (not a typo 😊) during his investigations, he definitely earned star of the day! 😁🌟

Bobby was diagnosed with degenerative valvular disease with a mild backward leak of both his mitral and tricuspid valves, the echo picture you can see is of his leaky tricuspid valve leading to an audible right sided (as well as a left sided) heart murmur.

Fantastically for Bobby he is graded at a B1 stage so no treatment is needed currently, we shall monitor him again in the coming months to assess his rate of progression ❤

Many thanks to Dolgellau Vets for hosting us this day ☺

25/08/2025

Did you know.....??

We also offer home visits for recheck cardiology appointments?

Recently, Phil and Liza were invited to the beautiful home of the lovely Gus and Gwen to perform a routine recheck of their heart condition previously diagnosed ❤

After a serene drive through the countryside, our Team found Gwen keeping a look out for their arrival 😄 We were able to set up our travelling kit in a suitable room and complete the investigations with the minimum of stress to our feline friends 🫶🙌

Contact us for more information on home visits ☺

01477 534729
info@jsvc.co.uk

21/08/2025

Snowy white Stan came in to see Luke recently to investigate the cause of a heart murmur found by his vets at a routine check.

Although he preferred a birds eye view of the scan table from Mandy's shoulder, Stan decided it was ok that Luke continue but he wasn't going to look 😁❤

Stan was diagnosed with mitral valve disease at a B1 stage, meaning that his heart isn't showing any signs of enlargement at the moment and treatment is not necessary just now. You can see the green turbulent blood flow on his echo picture showing the cause of his heart murmur as the blood struggles to flow smoothly through his mitral valve.

Mitral valve disease is a progressive disease however, and so it is important that his owners keep a check on his sleeping breathing rates and pop him back for rechecks as recommended ☺️🫶

18/08/2025

Did you know that we also offer a fixed price Kitten Clinic as well as a Puppy Clinic??? 🐈‍⬛🐾

Black beauty Ben was one of the first to take advantage of this service and presented after his vets detected a heart murmur at his vaccination appointment.

Phil was scrutinised during the echo, but Ben decided that he could carry on as long as the nursing team plied him with cuddles, which of course, they were very happy to do! 🥰

Ben has been diagnosed with a rare congenital heart condition called Double-chambered Right Ventricle (DCRV) where the internal structure of his heart hasn't formed properly and he has a fibrous band across his right ventricle (the pumping chamber of the heart to the lungs). Because of this there is also thickening of the muscle walls and enlargement of the chambers.

As Ben is so young, there is the possibility that his current stable condition may change so he will return for further checks as he grows 🫶

Contact us to find out more about our fixed prices on 01477 534729 or visit our website www.jsvc.co.uk.

14/08/2025

Such a gorgeous puppy xx

14/08/2025

Soulful labrador puppy Indi came to see Callan for our fixed price Puppy Clinic and we all just melted 😍

Indi has no symptoms at home and was referred for a heart murmur picked up at her first vaccinations. Investigations revealed that Indi has congenital heart defect mitral valve dysplasia with some obstruction to the blood flow leaving the left side of her heart.

Brilliantly for Indi she has this condition in a mild form, and although there is the possibility that this may change as she reaches maturity (we will be checking on her!), there is every hope that she will be able to lead a totally normal labrador life. Her owners certainly report that she has had no decrease in her energy levels since her diagnosis! 😁🫶🐾

Many thanks to Bodrwnsiwn Vets Mona for hosting us this day ❤️

11/08/2025

MEET OUR SURGICAL PATIENT

Millie the Dobermann came in to see Senior Clinician, Andrew, and have her PDA (patent ductus arteriosus) closed with a minimally invasive procedure. You can see a close up of the device we place in the photos ❤

The ductus arteriosus is a vessel that links the aorta and pulmonary artery whilst still in the womb and this should close on birth to direct the blood through the heart the proper way. Occasionally this doesn't happen, or doesn't happen fully and some blood is allowed to shunt back through to the left side of the heart. Untreated, this can lead to heart failure, but the JSVC team feel extremely happy that we can now offer the surgical intervention to allay this at a fixed price 🥰🙌

Andrew and Junior Cardiologist, Phil, performed a successful closure of Millie's PDA and we will see her soon for a check up on the device's positioning and condition of Millie's heart post closure.

Contact us to find out more about the surgical interventions we offer on 01477 534729 or email info@jsvc.co.uk.

www.jsvc.co.uk

07/08/2025

07/08/2025

MEET OUR PATIENT

The lovely Darwin didn't just come to see Callan for the treats 😋 but also to have a check up on his mitral valve disease (and a short nap during his scan).

Darwin is a shetland sheepdog and in his spare time he performs in agility classes with his owner, which we think is amazing 🥰 Fabulously, his heart disease doesn't impact too much on this as he is stable and shows a low risk of developing heart failure in the next 12 months 🙌🫶

Many thanks to Acorn Veterinary Centre for hosting us this day ❤