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Preparing for your visit
To ensure that your visit to OVC Cardiology is as efficient and informative as possible, please take the following steps to prepare:
Measure and Record Your Pet’s Resting Respiratory Rate:
Count Breathing Rate Regularly. When your pet is resting or asleep, watch their chest move as they breathe. One rise and fall means one (1) breath. Count how many breaths your pet takes in 15 seconds and multiply this number by four (4) to obtain the total breaths per minute. Every pet has their own normal resting breathing rate. Knowing any changes in the resting breathing rate will help us to determine the progression of most cardiac diseases.
You can track resting breathing rate with the “Cardalis” App, available on the App Store and Google Play.
Prepare Information About Your Pet’s Diet:
Be prepared to provide detailed information about your pet’s diet, including the brand, type, and amount of food they consume. This helps us understand any nutritional factors that may affect your pet’s cardiac health.
List Current Medications:
Make a list of all medications your pet is currently taking, including the name, dosage, and frequency. This ensures that we have a complete understanding of your pet’s treatment regimen and can make any necessary adjustments.
Additional Tips for a Smooth Visit:
If you have any recent medical records or test results from your family veterinarian, bring these documents to your appointment.
Plan to arrive a few minutes early to allow time for check-in and any necessary paperwork.
Be ready to discuss any changes in your pet’s behavior, activity level, or symptoms. The more information you can provide, the better we can tailor our care to your pet’s needs.
- Veterinary Specialist: A licensed veterinarian, board-certified as a specialist in a particular field. Supervises the medical team, including residents, interns, final-year veterinary students, and technicians.
- Resident: A veterinarian in training to become a board-certified specialist, supervised by the Veterinary Specialist.
- Intern: A veterinarian receiving advanced training in various specialties, supervised by the Veterinary Specialist.
- Veterinary Student: Completing their final year in the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Program, participating in all aspects of patient care under the supervision of the entire medical team.
- Veterinary Technician: A graduate of a Veterinary Technician program, working closely with the entire medical team to provide veterinary nursing care for patients.
What to expect during your visit to the Cardiology department at The OVC companion animal hospital
At OVC Cardiology, we strive to provide comprehensive and compassionate care for your pets. Understanding the appointment process helps ensure a smooth experience for both you and your pet.
Appointment Duration
Your appointment will typically take 1 to 2 hours but may take longer depending on the complexity of the problems and the current health status of your pet.
During Your Appointment
- An intern, a senior veterinary student, and/or a cardiology resident will greet you and begin the appointment by taking a detailed history and performing a complete physical exam of your pet.
- Although your family veterinarian will have provided us with your pet’s history, we want to ensure that we obtain the most up-to-date information.
- After gathering this information, the student or doctor may excuse themselves from the examination room so that our entire team can discuss all the information available from your pet (including information from your referring veterinarian). Sometimes it is helpful for us to include your pet in this meeting, to check parts of the physical examination while discussing relevant medical details.
- Following consultation with the supervising cardiologist veterinarian, a member of your veterinary care team will return to you to clarify any important history and discuss examination findings and recommendations for further diagnostic testing such as echocardiogram and/or treatment.
Following Your Appointment
- When your pet leaves our care, we will communicate with your family veterinarian to ensure that they have all the information they need to continue to care for your pet.
- If at any time you or your family veterinarian have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
- Please note that calls from us may display as “OVC HSC,” “Private Caller,” or “Unknown Caller.”
- You will receive a client survey via email to tell us how we did. We value your feedback and use it to continually improve the experience for our clients and their animal companions.
Sedation Information
In order to get the best possible images to evaluate the heart health status of your pet, sedation may be used.
The decision to administer sedation is at the discretion of the attending veterinarian(s) and is done with the patient’s best interests in mind.
In most cases, the use of sedation will be discussed with you in advance to outline the reasons for administering the sedation and to discuss any side effects of the medication used.
Medication used for sedation of cardiac patients is safe for their heart.
Pets are usually stressed in the hospital environment and when they reach home the effects of the sedative may show itself more. This is completely normal. Your pet may sleep the rest of the day.
Pets under sedation may have difficulty climbing up and down the stairs, beds, etc. You may need to assist your dog until they are sufficiently recovered.