Heart disease or nothing to worry about?

I recently took my my 7 year old cat in for a teeth cleaning and had blood
work and and an ecg done. On the ecg, it said:

"There are no arrhythmia or conduction disturbances present to pose a
contraindiction to general anesthesia". But it also said "A right axis shift
is present which can be seen in cats with cardiomegaly. The presence of an
axis shift could indicate heart disease. It can be an incidental finding on
animals having normal heart size on thoracic radiographs and/or
echocardiogram. Thoracic radiogaphs are recommended to further evaluate the
heart size and lung fields."

I had the x-rays done the following week and his heart is not enlarged. He
also has no signs of heart disease such as panting, slowing down, etc. The
doctor said it could be a false finding as he was given ketamine and
midazolan before the ecg which normally isn't done. They also gave him those
drugs before the x-ray as he becomes hysterical at the vet and will bite.
Could the drugs have affected the outcome of the ecg? My vet does not advise
an getting an echocardiogram done as he feels that my cat does not have heart
disease. But I can't help but worry! Any advice would be appreciated,
Thanks,

Jesse

Jesse wrote:
I recently took my my 7 year old cat in for a teeth cleaning and had blood
work and and an ecg done. On the ecg, it said:

"There are no arrhythmia or conduction disturbances present to pose a
contraindiction to general anesthesia". But it also said "A right axis shift
is present which can be seen in cats with cardiomegaly. The presence of an
axis shift could indicate heart disease. It can be an incidental finding on
animals having normal heart size on thoracic radiographs and/or
echocardiogram. Thoracic radiogaphs are recommended to further evaluate the
heart size and lung fields."

I had the x-rays done the following week and his heart is not enlarged. He
also has no signs of heart disease such as panting, slowing down, etc. The
doctor said it could be a false finding as he was given ketamine and
midazolan before the ecg which normally isn't done. They also gave him those
drugs before the x-ray as he becomes hysterical at the vet and will bite.
Could the drugs have affected the outcome of the ecg?

Very definitely!

My vet does not advise
an getting an echocardiogram done as he feels that my cat does not have heart
disease. But I can't help but worry! Any advice would be appreciated,
Thanks,

Jesse

I wouldn't worry about it at this point, either. Sure, you can pay the
$150 for the ultrasound and get peace of mind, but, IMO, it's not
necessary being that the cat has no symptoms and the x-ray was clear.

-L.