Sudden death

[Lindsey54]

Our dog Mops died suddenly today.  He was fine at 4:00 when I came home from work and held him and petted him for about 5 minutes.  We had to leave for about an hour and when we came back he was lying on my floor dead.  The only thing I know is that when we took him in for his initial vet visit last year they discovered a heart mur mur.  When I woke up two mornings ago, there was what I thought was black diarrhea on our carpet but now I think it may have been blood.  Can you tell me what may have happened?  We cant afford an autopsy, but just wondering what you may think.
Thank you,
Lindsey

[Justine Lee, D.V.M., DACVECC]

Dear Lindsey54,

I'm so sorry to hear about Mop's sudden death! My heart goes out to you and your family. Shih-tzus often do develop heart murmurs, which is from chronic valvular heart disease (CVHD) - this is why humans get "valve" replacements. Unfortunately, in severe conditions, it can result in severe congestive heart failure or even in a cordae rupture (which is when the heart valve tears resulting in sudden death or severe congenstivei heart failure - where fluid builds up in the lungs). If there was blood on the carpet, it may have been from his lungs, but it's hard to tell without doing an autopsy. A sudden heart arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm) may also have caused his sudden death.

I'm so sorry, and hope this helps - again, my heart goes out to you and your family. The comforting thing is knowing that Mops passed suddenly and acutely, and didn't suffer.

Deepest regards,

Dr. Justine Lee

[Jim Humphries, B.S., D.V.M.]

Hi Lindsey:  We are so sorry to hear of this surprising loss.  

A heart murmur, while suspicious, may not be the culprit because most dogs with murmurs live with them well and the murmur does not typically cause sudden death.  However, that said, it can happen.  

The black diarrhea (yes that indicates blood) might be more of a concern because this can be a symptom of a serious infection that can be responsible for sudden death.  I would have expected to see her show more symptoms leading up to the sudden death, but all dogs are a bit different.  Parvo is an example of a viral GI infection that can cause bloody diarrhea and sudden death.  

Again so sorry this happend.