09/06/2026
Gordon setter Arya was referred to the Cardiology Service at our Hospital for Small Animals having collapsed eight times in a month, after exercise or excitement.
Tests showed that the nine-year-old dog’s heart structure was normal, but she had an irregular heart rhythm. Cardiologists fitted Arya with a Holter monitor, to record her heart rhythm for 24 hours.
Results showed that Arya had a second-degree heart block — a condition where electrical signals fail to pass from the chambers in the top of the heart to those at the bottom. This resulted in a dangerously low heart rate (bradycardia), with Arya’s heart struggling to pump blood to her brain and body.
In surgery lasting just over an hour, the team fitted Arya with a pacemaker; the same type used in people, to control her heartbeat. A lead was placed in her heart via the jugular vein, and the 4cm wide pacemaker unit and battery was positioned under the skin at the top of her neck. She stayed in hospital for five days for monitoring, then went home to be rested for one month while recuperating.
Arya hasn’t collapsed since she her pacemaker was fitted and she has a new lease of life.
Her owner said: “It is great to see Arya running around, playing with the other family dogs and having fun. Although she is nine years old, she has the energy of a puppy again.”
She added: “I will always be indebted to the Cardiology Service for the love and care they showed her.”
Second-degree heart blocks like Arya’s can cause fainting, loss of energy and breathlessness, and in serious cases, sudden death.
With four RCVS Specialists, two residents, two cardiology nurses, and a dedicated animal care assistant, the cardiology team at our hospital is the largest of its kind in Scotland. The team was the first to fit a pacemaker in a dog in the UK in the 1980s, and remains one of a handful of teams in the UK to regularly perform this procedure.
