Pulmonic Stenosis

Pulmonic Stenosis: The Most Common Congenital Heart Defect

In a normally functioning canine heart, the right side of the heart is responsible for pumping blood to the lungs to be infused with oxygen. This oxygenated blood is then cycled back into the left side of the heart where it is sent out to the rest of the body. There exists, however, a medical condition called pulmonic stenosis that interferes with this natural and medically necessary process. In an animal with pulmonic stenosis, blood flow to the lungs is compromised by an improperly formed pulmonic valve. As a result, the heart must work much harder than normal to pump blood to the lungs, and the ultimate result is a swelling of fluid in the right chambers of the heart, a thickening of the heart muscle, and eventually heart failure and death. [...]

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