naturalpet
can help. Follow-up visits every six months allow the doctor to identify the point at which heart disease has progressed toward impending heart failure. In general, pets with either a dis- eased or failing heart can benefit from supplements. Individual regimens vary, based on the nature of the patient’s case.
Cardiac Care for Pets How to Keep Little Hearts Humming by Dr. Shawn Messonnier
S
ymptoms that suggest a dog or cat’s heart is not pumping effec- tively include coughing and fatigue
from light exercise. Before the signs are evident, it is far better to check for heart disease during regular twice-yearly visits to the veterinarian. Using a stethoscope, a skilled doctor can pick up telltale heart murmurs during the examination. A fairly common problem with cats, heart disease tends to occur as cardiomy- opathy, an issue with the heart muscle. In most dogs, where cardiomyopathy is rare, it usually involves damaged heart valves, resulting in “leaks” that allow blood to flow in both directions.
Upon an initial diagnosis of heart disease, one of two mistakes in treat- ment routinely occur: Either a doctor prescribes strong cardiac medications to “prevent” heart failure from happen- ing (even though no medication has been shown to prevent heart failure), or he takes a wait-and-see approach, only intervening when the disease progress- es to irreversible heart failure. The better approach is to do further
testing and evaluation at the first sign of a murmur, including chest X-rays, an electrocardiogram (EKG) and a cardiac ul- trasound to classify the stage of the disease and determine if conventional medications
Omega-3 Fish oil contains beneficial docosa- hexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapen- taenoic acid (EPA) unsaturated omega-3 fatty acids. The principle metabolites derived from the metabolism of EPA and DHA tend to be anti-inflammatory. Contrariwise, omega-6 fatty ac-
ids, which are found in warm-weather vegetable oils, produce pro-inflam- matory mediators. Because omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids compete with each other to be converted to active metabolites (pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory) in the body, decreasing the intake of omega-6 fatty acids and/or increasing dietary omega-3 fatty acid levels, available through fish oil, is generally consid- ered beneficial. The differing numbers identifying omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids simply refer to where the carbon-carbon double bonds are positioned in the molecules. Supplementing with fish oil may also reduce the occurrence of athero- sclerosis, thrombosis, coronary heart disease, arrhythmias, heart failure and sudden cardiac death by decreasing inflammation throughout the body, including in the heart.
ubiquinol or ubiquinone, is a naturally occurring antioxidant synthesized in
Coenzyme Q-10 Coenzyme Q10
(CoQ10 ), also known as
50 Collier/Lee Counties
swfl.NaturalAwakeningsMag.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72