Bite Size Meds
Breaking your pets' medication down into palatable and digestible chunks.

Vetmedin
What is Vetmedin?
Vetmedin is the brand name for the drug pimobendan. It is used to treat animals with some types of heart disease. It is also the only version of pimobendan currently used to treat animals that have heart disease BUT are still outwardly fine (called pre-clinical heart disease).
What does Vetmedin do?
Vetmedin works in 3 main ways in the body;
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It helps the heart to beat more strongly
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It helps open up blood vessels; this means they can act a bit like an overflow storage system for the heart, so it has less blood to deal with on each heart beat and can work more effectively.
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It has a “feel good factor” – it just makes our pets feel better!
What causes the heart disease?
Heart disease is complicated. Unlike in humans, it is rarely the result of being overweight or eating a diet high in salt. Most often, there is a genetic reason why your dog or cat has developed a heart condition. Sometimes it can occur after an infection damages the heart, e.g. after an episode of myocarditis or endocarditis, or following a heartworm infection. Taurine deficiency is also a known risk factor for pets developing heart disease, and there is also some evidence emerging that dogs on certain diets, specifically grain-free or exotic/boutique diets, are more likely to develop a specific heart condition.
Why has my animal been prescribed Vetmedin?
Because Vetmedin works to help the heart produce a better output, each heart beat pushes blood around the body more effectively.
This means pets with previously struggling hearts (those in “heart failure”), should feel some benefits. For many pets in heart failure, this means they become less breathless, can exercise better and are less lethargic.
For dogs with heart disease that are being treated in the pre-clinical phase (i.e. they still look completely outwardly normal), the drug is being used to delay the start of heart failure. This can buy them, on average, an extra 9-15 months (depending on their type of heart disease) of living a completely normal life before they start to show signs of heart failure.
How quickly does it help my pet?
Vetmedin usually starts to make a noticeable difference within 7 days, and the improvement can continue in the weeks that follow, but if your dog didn’t yet have any symptoms (they were pre-clinical), then you won’t actually see a difference even though the heart is now working better on the inside.
Are there any side-effects I need to worry about?
Vetmedin usually has minimal side-effects but some animals will get vomiting or diarrhoea, or go off their food, and some animals may also seem sleepier/less active than usual.
Are there any pets that cannot have Vetmedin?
Vetmedin should ONLY be given to your pet if it has been prescribed by your veterinary surgeon.
There are some groups of animals for whom Vetmedin should either not be given, or it should only be given after discussing it thoroughly with your vet. These include;
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Animals with heart disease where blood cannot flow easily out of the heart – for these animals, making the heart beat harder is not the solution
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Dogs with liver disease
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Pregnant dogs or those lactating to feed their offspring (i.e. breastfeeding)