HCM journey

Hi!

I wanted to start writing my cat’s HCM journey for anyone who is going through the same terrifying experience.

I hope this will help someone else’s baby and maybe help to get them diagnosed earlier. At the very least, I hope someone will read through this and realize that they are not alone.

My beautiful boy went for a regular checkup - we wanted to get his vaccines updated and to treat a mild upper respiratory infection- he was sneezing.

The vet prescribed him antibiotics for his infection and listened to his heart. « Gallop Rhythm » she said. What? What is gallop rhythm? She says: « I recommend you to see a cardiologist ». My heart sank.

I went home that day and started searching for information. Gallop heart is a strong indicator of an underlying heart disease. It’s rarely benign. But gosh I was praying so hard that our case is when it was benign.

We got referred to a cardiologist (through a different vet, but it’s irrelevant) and we scheduled for an appointment 5 weeks ahead. By then I couldn’t sleep, eat or work. I was crying, anxious all the time. His resting respiratory heart rate was reaching 31-33 per minute.

I called my vet multiple times. I wrote emails asking her to try and push it for sooner. I think she thought I was crazy. But after another appointment she referred us to a different clinic, they were able to take us in the same week! And oh boy am I happy I did that.

His diagnosis through an echocardiogram.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy stage B2 (advanced) with low-end-normal systolic function
and restrictive filling profile. Severe left atrial dilation, moderate left ventricular dilation, thickened interventricular
septum (generalised but with prominent DUST), with restrictive filling profiles suggesting elevated left
atrial and left ventricular end diastolic pressures.

I think something in me died that day. For some people pets are just that - pets. But I love him so much. I had him since he was a 5 months old kitten. He sleeps with me, hugging me with his paw like a little human. He gives kisses. He is so friendly with everyone he meets. He has never done anything bad in this entire life. He doesn’t deserve this. And I genuinely dont know how to continue my life without him.

Anyways, the cardiologist immediately put him on blood thinners and prescribed him a diuretic. We are still waiting to receive the second medication (diuretic), but I already started him on blood thinners.

He is not in CHF yet. His lungs are clear, but his stage is advanced. Prognosis: months to years with high individual variability

It’s been 2 days since we was diagnosed. We ruled out secondary causes (T4, anemia, high blood pressure). I am looking into rapamycin and fast. We don’t have a prescription for it yet, but I will do my best to get it if his cardiologist thinks it’s worth trying.

I am in Canada, so getting rapamycin will be an adventure, but I want to try it. I’m not looking for a miracle, I’m looking to give him a slightest chance of living a few more years.

I will be putting updates here for myself and for others so I know that I have done everything I could to save him.