In early stages of heart disease there may be no signs and your dog may just need to be checked regularly by your vet. If signs develop these can be treated. However, in most cases heart disease does get worse and treatment will only slow down the rate of disease progression. Such treatment includes:

• Changes to your dog's lifestyle, ie more controlled exercise.
• Drugs to improve the strength of the heart beat or change the heart rate (digoxin, pimobendan or antiarrhythmics).
• Drugs to remove excess fluid retention (ACE inhibitors and diuretics).
• Dietary changes may be recommended by your vet depending on the type of heart disease present.

Some congenital heart defects can be corrected by surgery. If your vet recommends surgery it is well worth considering. If the problem is corrected at an early stage (before any signs develop) it may be that your dog could be cured and never require any further treatment.