Anyone know about large heart in rabbits?

[bunny_princess]

I took Scout to the vet a little over a month ago because she looked kind of bug eyed, both of her eyes looked enlarged. The vet ruled out glaucoma with a pressure test and didn’t see any cataracts in her eyes, but had trouble seeing her lenses (she said on one side she could only see half of the lens, and she couldn’t see the other lens at all.) She gave her tobramycin which seemed to help some but not much. She has eyesight problems sometimes but doesn’t seem to be blind at all. Anyway, I made an appointment with an eye specialist 2 hours away which is a week from today. Today, however, Scout had a bad case of stasis so I took her to the vet again. They did an x-ray (they didn’t need to put her under don’t worry) and ruled out a hairball but saw that she is gassy and has a possibly enlarged heart. The vet thinks now maybe she has hypertension and that might be causing her eyes to swell. Her eyes looked better today and they took her blood pressure which was normal but the vet thinks it might be normal today but higher on days where her eyes look worse. BTW we are now giving her metacam once a day and feeding her critical care till her appetite returns. I’m still taking her to the opthalmologist next week but I’m wondering if anyone has any experience or knowledge with (possible) cardiomegaly or hypertension in rabbits. Thanks in advance. I’ll keep you posted about her stasis, too. She’s already drinking water on her own now again.

[A Happy Herd of Hares]

I personally do not, but I’m wishing you two good news! {{{{{{VIBES}}}}}}

[Q8bunny]

Not personal experience, but know from my local rescue that a lot of their larger buns (especially their rescued meat rabbits – mostly REWs) were diagnosed with enlarged hearts and/or other heart issues.

[Wick & Fable]

No personal experience either, but it seems enlarged hearts are a condition that are treated with medication, since it cannot be cured. In humans, there are a couple procedures to shrink an enlarged heart, but it is nowhere anyone would consider on a rabbit. An enlarged heart can present a lot of issues, so certain medications can help counterbalance it.

A lot of people on other forums talk about getting an echo or cardiogram in order to confirm an enlarged heart first. I read upon a number that said their rabbit lived quite long and it was just managed with medication and keeping a watchful eye out for major developments, like signs of heart failure.

Best wishes to you and your bun!

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[bunny_princess]

Thanks for the responses everybody. Scout is doing well. Her appetite came back after a few days. She hated the critical care though, when she started feeling a bit better she kept spitting it out, luckily by then she was eating a few other things.

We went to the opthalmologist yesterday. He said there are no occular signs of hypertension, that the main problem with her eyes (besides age related degeneration including some very small cataracts) is inflammation. He prescribed her a non steroidal anti-inflammatory eye drops that she’ll be on a diminishing schedule for. It seems to be helping her.

Both rabbits really enjoyed the road trip to the opthalmologist, btw. I was worried because they’re both about 9 1/2 but when we got home they were enthusiastically running around and playing in their carriers like they do after we go to the park

[Q8bunny]

That’s a best case scenario outcome, right there. Live long and prosper.

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