HeartSmart: Information on Pets with Heart Disease
HeartSmart is intended to help the owners of dogs and cats with heart disease. The site aims to provide information on the common heart diseases in dogs and cats, tests that are commonly done to help diagnose heart disease, drugs commonly used to treat heart disease, and possible outcomes for affected pets.
HeartSmart is created by the board-certified veterinary cardiologists and veterinary nutritionists at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. It strives to be a source of science-based information about heart disease in pets.
We hope you find HeartSmart a helpful resource. If you have specific areas of interest, please use our Heart Disease A-Z.
We are committed to helping you and your veterinarian care for your loved pet.
What is a Veterinary Cardiologist and How Do I Find One?
A veterinary cardiologist is a veterinarian with 3 years of advanced education and training in treating pets with heart disease. Veterinary cardiologists become board certified after finishing training and passing a rigorous examination given by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ACVIM)
A veterinary cardiologist will usually be referred to as a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in the Specialty of Cardiology, or Diplomate ACVIM (Cardiology).
If you are in the New England area, the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University has a renowned cardiology department. It is home to a team of board-certified veterinary cardiologists, residents, interns, students, and technicians.
Learn more about the Cummings Cardiology Service and make an appointment.
Many other options for veterinary cardiologists can be found using the Find a Veterinary Specialist website.
The Creators of HeartSmart
John E. Rush - DVM, MS, DACVECC, DACVIM
Dr. John Rush is a diplomate and prior president of the ACVIM (Cardiology) specialty, as well as a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care (ACVECC). He attended veterinary school at The Ohio State University and has taught veterinary students at Tufts University for over 30 years. He is active in cardiology research and loves teaching. See Dr. Rush's recent publications here.
Lisa Freeman - DVM, PhD, DACVN
Dr. Lisa Freeman has 3 degrees from Tufts University (BS, DVM, and PhD in nutrition). She is a diplomate and prior president of the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN). She is a world-renowned expert in nutrition and heart disease. Additional information on the Cummings Nutrition Service is available here. See Dr. Freeman's recent publications here.
Emily Tompkins Karlin - DVM, DACVIM
Dr. Emily Karlin is a graduate of Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. She completed her veterinary cardiology residency at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, and she is a diplomate of American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine ACVIM (Cardiology). She loves teaching and practicing clinical veterinary cardiology. See Dr. Karlin's recent publications here.
Special thanks to Amanda Oppold for her outstanding assistance in generating content for the HeartSmart site.
The Barkley Fund
Barkley, the Great Dane the Barkley Fund honors
The Barkley Fund makes the HeartSmart website possible. This fund supports the advancement of veterinary cardiology and veterinary emergency and critical care medicine through research, collaboration, and training.
The Barkley Fund was established to celebrate a special Great Dane and to honor all those who are devoted to dogs and cats. Barkley suffered from a heart disorder that is almost always fatal. Cummings veterinarians devised an innovative program of medication and diet that helped Barkley live a full, high-quality life.
Barkley's owners established the Barkley Fund to foster ongoing innovation in cardiology and emergency/critical care medicine. The fund provides resources for activities that promote scientific inquiry, collaboration, and training.
In addition to supporting the development of the HeartSmart website, the Barkley Fund has enabled many important studies that have contributed to our knowledge of veterinary cardiology and nutrition at the Cummings School, such as:
- Veterinarians in practice can learn to do a brief Echo to screen cats for heart disease
- Muscle loss (cardiac cachexia) is associated with shorter survival in cats with heart failure
- The role of NT-proBNP values in the successful treatment of heart failure in cats
- Development of an instructional video to teach veterinarians to assess muscle condition score in dogs and cats to identify muscle loss
- The effects of heart disease on quality of life in dogs and cats
- Benefits of atorvastatin (Lipitor) in dogs with heart failure
- Cats with big heads and larger bones are more likely to have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy