Cardiology

At Southview Vets, we are proud to offer a full small animal cardiology service for your pets. This is led by visiting veterinary surgeons, Deirdre Sheehan and Laura Mang of CardioVet Ireland.

Laura holds a doctorate in Cardiology from Munich’s LMU university, where she also worked in the cardiology department for 2.5 years, and Deirdre is a double post-graduate certificate holder in Small Animal Cardiology.

They each have many years of experience in diagnosing and treating heart disease of all types, including murmur investigations, syncope/fainting work ups, treatment of acute and chronic heart failure, managing pericardial effusions, cardiac cancers, and pre-breeding heart checks.

Your pet’s comfort is prioritised always; tests are safe and non-invasive, and usually sedation is not necessary.
Modern cardiac treatment options can keep your pet happy and healthy for longer than ever; even when heart disease is diagnosed.

What Cardiology services do we offer?

Routine and emergency cardiac cases seen
Full Doppler echocardiography
Electrocardiography (ECG)
Holter monitoring
Digital chest radiography
Blood pressure monitoring
Therapeutic procedures (pericardiocentesis, thoracocentesis, abdominocentesis)

When is heart testing recommended?

Your vet may recommend cardiac testing in the following scenarios:

Murmur investigation
Collapsing/Syncope
Arrhythmia investigation
Breathing difficulties
Ascites investigation
Pre Breeding screening

What to expect on the day

Ring ahead: Whether it is a routine check or an emergency, it is always a good idea to let us know that you’re coming. Ring ahead, and if you have been referred to us by your vet, please also ensure they have filled out the referral form on our website.
Administer their tablets: If your pet is currently on medication of any sort, please ensure they have taken their medication as usual on the day of the appointment.
Sedation: Most of our cardiology patients do not need any sedation. The tests we need to do are generally non invasive and gentle. However, if you know that your pet is especially fearful of being examined, we can offer some gentle sedation to put them at ease. If this is the case, please fast them the morning of their appointment; it is ok to give water and tablets, but no meals please!
Appointment time: Most visits to the cardiologist involve doing some tests. When testing is required, your pet will likely need to stay with us for a full or half day. If you have time constraints on the day please let us know ahead of time and we will always do our best to accommodate you.
Hair clipped: For some tests we may need to clip some hair on your pet’s chest or legs. If your pet is a show animal please let us know and we can avoid this where necessary.
Timing of results: We will give the results of most heart tests verbally to you on the day. Your vet will then get a follow up report by email, and if necessary by phone call also, within 72 hours of being seen.

Additional Information for Owners

Click on the below points for more information:

Refer a case online

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