Just like you, it’s possible for your furry friends to fall victim to heart and kidney disease. The thought of having a really sick pet due to the reduced function of their organs can be very heartbreaking. Any type of organ failure is serious and veterinary support is needed to slow down the chronic disease progression and help your pet get more from life.
Though the signs and symptoms will vary based on the affected organ, your beloved pet will probably need some sort of special management, medical or dietary, or both. Managing simultaneous heart and kidney failure in a pet is very challenging, but it’s not as rare as you might think since most pets do well with medications and treatment.
Your veterinarian will walk you through the therapeutic measures you can take. They may suggest you treating chronic diseases in dogs and cats with Fortekor tablets. These flavoured medications slow the progression of chronic heart failure in dogs and chronic renal failure in cats. Read on to learn more about the use of the Fortekor tablets as well as their efficacy and safety.
Fortekor Tablets Indications
Fortekor is a veterinary medicinal product that is applied to cats and dogs. It contains benazepril hydrochloride presented in 2.5-mg, 5-mg and 20-mg flavoured tablets and 5-mg and 20-mg film-coated tablets. These tablets are indicated for the treatment of mild, moderate, and severe congestive heart failure in dogs and/or chronic kidney disease in cats and dogs. They are easy to administer and can be given with or without food.
Heart Failure in Dogs
Approximately 10% of all dogs, mostly senior dogs, have some form of heart disease. When it comes to canine heart diseases, some of them can be congenital and ultimately lead to oxygen depletion in the tissues, and eventual heart failure. Due to various possible causes, your dog’s heart has trouble pumping blood to the rest of its body. Catching it early on can be life-saving. So you should learn to recognize the signs or symptoms that may indicate heart disease, or even worse congestive heart failure. This will help you know when you may need to make an appointment with your veterinarian.
If heart disease or heart failure is diagnosed, Fortikor tablets can help keep your dog’s heart beating for many years to come. These medications aid the management of heart failure in dogs caused by mitral regurgitation or dilated cardiomyopathy, in combination with standard therapy. They reduce the pressure and volume load on the heart in dogs with heart failure and lead to improvements in the quality of life. The minimum recommended dose of Fortekor tablets for dogs is 0.25 mg benazepril hydrochloride/kg body weight which should be administered orally once daily. The dose may be doubled to Fortekor 5mg if judged clinically necessary and advised by your veterinarian.
Chronic Renal Insufficiency in Cats
Though renal or kidney failure is mainly a problem in older cats, it can occur in cats of all ages and is usually the result of poisons, toxic plants, and certain human medications which are highly poisonous to your feline friend’s kidneys. Their kidneys stop working and are no longer able to filter and clean blood, hence causing unsafe levels of waste to build up. Usually, the increased levels of protein in their urine is a sign of kidney disease. If acute or severe renal disease is found, it may be treated or cured with surgery, removing blockages, or special diet and medications.
Fortekor tablets, in particular, aid the management of chronic renal insufficiency associated with proteinuria in cats. They reduce the protein loss in urine and lowers systemic and intraglomerular blood pressure. Fortekor for cats with renal failure should be given orally at a minimum dose of 0.5 mg benazepril hydrochloride/kg body weight once daily. Whether these medications will be useful can be determined by a urine test.
Fortekor Safety and Caution
Fortekor flavoured tabs tend to be well-tolerated by the target species, namely dogs and cats. But there are some warnings and special precautions for use that should be taken into account. For example, the efficacy and safety of these tablets have not been established in dogs below 2.5 kg body weight. Also, there is no evidence showing that Fortekor is safe for breeding, pregnant, or lactating dogs and cats. You should consult with your veterinarian and follow their instructions.
Fortekor tablets for dogs with congestive heart failure can be given in combination with digoxin, diuretics, pimobendan, and anti-arrhythmic products since there is no evidence of associated adverse reactions. However, transient reversible hypotension, that is, low blood pressure may occur in cases of accidental overdose. So you should always follow the dosing instructions given by your veterinarian.
