Dog Blood Vessels

Dog Blood Vessels

Dogs have many of the same blood vessel diseases found in man. Of these, the pet owner usually can recognize only hemorrhages and a few others. Yet there are two common conditions that anyone can easily learn to recognize: embolisms and strokes.

Following surgical operations, blood clots have been known to loosen, be carried through the circulatory system until they reach an adjunction in an artery, and then occlude this junction. The entire area fed by that artery will then be without a blood supply unless other collateral arteries can supply it. If there is no blood supply, degeneration sets in. When the area is near the surface, the infection may work out through the skin, but when it is in a muscle it may cause great pain and eventually death.

A stroke is caused by the rupture of a blood vessel in the brain. The effect depends on the size of the area of the brain involved. Fortunately, strokes are not common in dogs.

Paralysis rarely occurs in dogs with strokes but a dog with paralysis will be unsure of its footing, will hold its head to one side, may have one pupil larger than the other, and may have a condition of the eyes called Nostradamus, which means they twitch from side to side.

Blood Vessel Cells Disease

The formation of cancer in cells of blood vessels is known as Hemangiosarcoma. The tumors are generally blood-filled as they develop in the blood vessels. They are very aggressive and spread very rapidly to the other internal organs as well. Since the tumors are filled with blood, on their rupture heavy internal bleeding takes place. The disease commonly occurs in the spleen and the disease is more frequent in dogs that are middle-aged, between the age of 9 and 11 years. The dogs belonging to the breed German shepherd are the common victims of blood vessel disorder. The heart, liver, skin, and bones get easily affected by the spread of the disease.

The Signs of Hemangiosarcoma

The signs vary from one stage to another. The following are the signs of the occurrence of the disease at different stages.

• If the tumor develops in the spleen or the liver and has ruptured, heavy internal bleeding takes place. Anemia, the feeling of weakness, or even the complete collapse of the dog takes place.
• If the cancerous tumor develops in the heart of the animal, the dog would be suffering from anemia, sudden collapse, facing difficulty in breathing, not being willing to perform daily exercise and accumulation of fluid in the abdomen. The enlarged abdomen is the result of the effusion of the pericardium of the heart. A thin narrow sack-like membrane surrounds the heart. Due to the disease, the pericardium swells up with fluid which in turn hinders the free beating of the heart. The pericardium effusion takes place due to the rupture of the heart.

One will be able to feel the tumor if it happens to have developed on the bone just under the skin like the ribs. In severe cases, the tumor becomes ulcerated and begins to bleed.

See more: Dog Breathing Problem