Heart or cardiac disease is relatively uncommon in the ferret. When present, heart disease is usually in middle-aged to older ferrets (over 3 years of age). Congestive heart failure (CHF), associated with aging in older ferrets, is the most common form of heart disease seen by veterinarians. Two other less commonly seen types of heart diseases in ferrets are Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) and Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM).

When the heart is functioning normally, the muscular wall contracts, the heart valves open and blood is pumped out to the lungs and body. The heart then relaxes and refills with blood to be pumped out with the next heart beat. With congestive heart failure one or more heart valves is not functioning properly and the heart is unable to pump enough blood to meet the body’s nutritional and oxygen needs or backs up to the lungs where it causes fluid build up also known as lung congestion. The same thing can happen with DCM or HCM, however in these diseases it is the heart muscle (not the valve) that is malfunctioning. With DCM the heart muscle is thin and too weak to pump effectively and with HCM the heart muscle is too thick and therefore can not beat effectively.

A ferret with heart disease may show a variety of clinical signs including reluctance to play, loss of energy, weight loss, rear leg weakness, difficulty breathing, increased respiratory rate, coughing, and at times an enlarged abdomen due to fluid buildup. If you report any of these symptoms to your veterinarian they will listen for an abnormal heart beat which can manifest as a murmur (turbulent blood valve usually secondary to a leaky heart valve) or an irregular heart rate and/or rhythm.

In order to diagnose heart disease your veterinarian may recommend several tests. These may include listening to the heart with a stethoscope, blood work, taking an X-ray of the chest, performing an electrocardiogram (EKG), or an echocardiogram (an ultrasound of the heart). If it is determined that heart disease is causing fluid build up within the chest or abdomen, the veterinarian will want to drain and analyze this fluid. These tests will help determine the degree of disease severity and help differentiate which cardiac disease is present so that the best course of treatment may be prescribed.

Once the condition is diagnosed, your ferret will likely be placed on one or several medications. These drugs may include: furosemide, a diuretic to decrease the buildup of fluid in the body, enalapril, to decrease the workload of the heart, or digoxin, to increase the strength of the heart muscle. It is important to realize that the ferret with heart disease will remain on medication and that these drugs may be periodically adjusted depending on the ferret’s response. You should never change the frequency or amount of the drugs prescribed without first consulting your veterinarian. Your pet will be on most of the drugs for the rest of his or her life and you should not allow your supply to run out.

Close monitoring of heart disease is essential. Your veterinarian will prescribe follow-up visits to assess clinical progress and review blood work, X-rays, or other tests to ensure that medications are working properly and that side effects are being minimized.