Veterinary cardiology in Northfield, IL.

Whether your cat has a heart condition or your dog needs a procedure like interventional fluoroscopy, our cardiology team is ready to help. Our top priority is to create the best quality of life for pets with cardiac disease while focusing on overall well-being and comfort every step of the way.

Serving pets in the greater Chicago community, we’re experts in treating both acquired (conditions that develop with age) and congenital (conditions that are present from birth) cardiac diseases in pets.

In collaboration with primary veterinarians and our other in-house specialty services, we focus on evaluating and treating dogs and cats with symptoms of heart trouble including:

  • Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
  • Exercise intolerance
  • Fainting/collapse
  • Cough
  • Abdominal swelling
  • Restlessness
  • Weakness/lethargy
  • Sudden rear or front leg lameness

Heart conditions in dogs and cats.

If an abnormality is detected on a physical exam or diagnostics completed by the primary veterinarian indicate a need for further evaluation, we provide comprehensive care and develop a treatment plan that focuses on overall wellbeing.

Common conditions we evaluate and treat include:

  • Heart murmurs
  • Arrhythmias (irregular heartbeat)
  • Congestive heart failure
  • Extra heart sound
  • Abnormal chest x-ray
  • Pleural effusion (fluid in chest)
  • Pericardial effusion (fluid in the sac around the heart)
  • Ascites (fluid in the belly)
  • High or low blood pressure
  • Elevated pro-BNP level on bloodwork
  • Endocarditis (inflammation or infection of a heart valve)
  • Myocarditis (inflammation or infection of heart muscle)

Giving pets with heart conditions the best care.

Our highly trained cardiology team operates in an advanced facility, where we have access to sophisticated diagnostics and treatment technology, as well as the expertise of clinicians in other in-house specialty departments.

We use the following tools to facilitate appropriate diagnosis and treatment of heart and lung disease:

  • Echocardiography (2D, m-mode and spectral, tissue and color flow Doppler)
  • Agitated saline contrast evaluation for shunt detection
  • Electrocardiography (ECG/EKG)
  • Ambulatory ECG monitoring (Holter monitors)
  • Radiographs/x-rays
  • Fluoroscopy (real-time x-ray)
  • Angiography
  • Catheter-based hemodynamic studies
  • Doppler blood pressure evaluation
  • Pre-Adriamycin (chemotherapy) cardiac screening
  • Pre-anesthesia cardiac screening
  • Pre-I-131 cardiac screening
  • Abdominocentesis
  • Thoracocentesis
  • Pericardiocentesis

Veterinary fluoroscopy for pets with cardiac diseases.

We also offer minimally invasive interventional (or catheter-based) procedures. Compared to more invasive surgeries, the benefits of these procedures include reduced pain, less time under anesthesia, shorter hospitalization and faster recovery time. Our minimally invasive procedures involve the use of specialized tools, like veterinary fluoroscopy (real-time x-ray imaging) to alleviate and cure cardiac defects in pets.

We offer this service in our facility with interventional options including:

  • Permanent pacemaker implantation – treats slow arrhythmias
  • Temporary transvenous pacemaker implantation
  • Balloon valvuloplasty – relieves heart valve stenosis including pulmonic and aortic stenosis
  • Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) occlusion – closure of an opening between the aorta and pulmonary artery that can be present at birth
  • Heartworm extraction
  • Diagnostic angiograms – detection of abnormal cardiovascular and arteriovenous shunts

Available by referral, our veterinary cardiology team forms long-term relationships with patients and clients to promote ongoing quality of life, health and happiness.