Jacko's Heart Ultrasound *UPDATE*

[Grey_Moon]

Hi all,

Been a long day and me n my baby girl are finally settled in, bathed n fed and winding down for the night. Finally managed to see the vet n the cardiologist (and find the darn place!). Preliminary results look good but we're waiting on the cardiologist to do his calculations and etc for the final results.

I was much impressed by the vet actually (who's grey was in the office behind the exam room snoozing away on his gym XD). She was in absolute love with Jacko, gave me much praise for all the work I do for her diet and her condition ---she also managed to examine Jay without busting out the towel monster and spent much time babbling to her and trying to make a big game out of everything for her which is great because my old girl gets right frazzled with vets and towels!

She found what appeared to be a slight arrhythmia in her heartbeat, but it wasn't anything alarming and said it could be just stress or 'normal' for Jacko without being a problem. Her regular vet didn't hear anything abnormal on her well-bird exam in back in May and metacam can cause irregular heartbeat in other animals so writing this off as a fluke till it becomes an issue.

I think the biggest lesson to be learned here is to regularly handle and desensitize your bird and to never ever skimp on preventative medicine.
Because I keep a close eye on Jacko's body condition/know what to look for, because I keep an eye on her feet n beak and because she's used to me examining her body it is less stressful for the vet to do it to her. She doesn't need to be towelled and stressed out and the vet didn't get presented with a bird in poor condition who's in need of obvious help while I'm oblivious.

The biggest bonus is today my baby girl had to go through the least amount of sedation and fussing to get her testing done and the vet gave her the 5 star treatment. When they gave her the ultrasound she was lightly sedated, gently put on her belly and slid the ultrasound wand underneath onto her belly/chest. The vet scritched her neck the whole way and the whole thing was done as gently and calmly as possible.
I was really touched with the amount of care the vet gave

The result? Less drugs and a faster recovery time. She was woozy and regurgitated a bit, but by the time we got home two hours later she had a bite of well-cooked chicken, kept that down, so then got her metacam and ate her supper like a champ. She took a bath to get the ultrasound goo off her feathers, splashed water everywhere and is ready for bed

I'll keep you guys updated as soon as I know details

[marie83]

Glad to hear there is nothing apparently obvious, hopefully the other results will come back fine too. How long til you get them?

[Grey_Moon]

Got the full report back from the cardiologist---and now that I've had my customary disappointed/sad/scared crying fit I'm doing my little update.

Well---its not bad news but its not optimal news either.
Her heart isn't 'optimal' but it isn't 'sick' either.

There's the aforementioned arrhythmia, some premature atrial contractions and her left ventricle is at the uppermost value in thickness. There is also some mild and non-significant amount of mitral valve regurgitation (ie blood leaking back where it shouldn't) but this could be related to the mild thickening of the mitral valve.

The left ventricle and the mitral valve need a follow-up in 6 months with another ultrasound to determine if there's a trend/increase in the thickening we need to be worried about or something going on to cause it. It'll also check on the arrhythmia and the contractions as well.
The arrhythmia is not significant enough to be in need of any sort of treatment.

But the atrial contractions are something I need to watch, because if it progresses into a supra-ventricular arrhythmia it's not good and she'll need treatment ASAP---so I'm watching her for any sign of lightheadness/weakness/fainting etc.

I'm a bit stressed out right now, seeing as she might need these sort of ultrasounds every six months for the rest of her life and they're $650 a pop. I'll do it, of course...but it won't be easy.

The vet told me not to worry and she's certainly not dying or a frail animal and isn't on her deathbed. The truth of the matter is even in otherwise healthy animals you'll always find something not completely up to code.

I don't know how much of that I buy but it ain't over till its over...

My baby's getting her new cage and toys on Monday at least.

[Eurycerus]

Well---its not bad news but its not optimal news either.
Her heart isn't 'optimal' but it isn't 'sick' either.

I'm so happy to hear! I'd be super stressed out waiting for the results. Although it isn't perfect, it sounds like you knew that going in. So this is great news! :] I really never thought about parrots having heart conditions until recently. I guess I figured animals that are basically from the wild wouldn't have such problems, but nope. :/