Atrial Premature Complex (APC)

Background

Penny had been a champion show dog and had bred 2 litters of beautiful, healthy puppies. After her last litter was born in 2007, when Penny was 6 years old, Susan adopted her. Soon after, Susan did some research on pet insurance and decided to insure Penny with Embrace. Penny had a complete physical right away at Carlsbad Animal Hospital in California, and the vet found her completely healthy. In fact, both of her purebred parents were still living with healthy hearts.

However, Susan soon learned that just because a dog's parents are cleared of heart conditions, that doesn't always mean the offspring are safe. During a routine physical in August 2009, Penny's vet found a slight heart murmur, so Susan took her to a cardiologist at UC Davis. With an echocardiogram, the vet found a slight atrial premature complex (APC). He recommended a regular follow up and echochardiogram in 3 months. At this point the vet has not recommended any treatment unless the APC worsens, and Penny continues to be healthy in all other respects and still shows no physical symptoms of APC.