Heart Hemorages

[Anonymous]

A Postmortem of a cow showed it had major heart hemorages and there were clots in the lung...the only other notable thing in the autopsy was a good amount of corn in the stomach. The cow had been running on cornstalks with her herdmates. The cow had been driven hard out about 1/2 mile 2 to 6 hours prior to her death. Could the 1/2 mile hard drive been the cause of the heart hemorages and thus the death of the cow? Thank you for your opinions !<br>
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[Anonymous]

Ok, now every PM on every animal which dies shows heart hemorrhages. It's called agonal death (vs slaughtered animal's hearts...)Now the clots in the lungs could be related to a problem, again it could be normal. How soon after death was the cow posted? How large was the heart? Normal or enlarged? What did the heart tissue look like grossly? Consistency of the lung? I know I'm not answering your question, but without this, the signifigance of the findings are unknown. Corn in the stomach? If moldy, could be signifigant. Trailing 1/2 mile should never kill a normal animal, but if she had cardiomyopathy, that could kill her. The clots could just be due to time since death, or be the cause of death. Were there any parasites present in the lungs? Lungworm can certainly kill a mature cow if the numbers are high enough (and will affect the rest of your herd). Selenium deficiency would be something else to consider. If you have any further questions, ask your vet or I'll try to help!<br>V<br>: A Postmortem of a cow showed it had major heart hemorages and there were clots in the lung...the only other notable thing in the autopsy was a good amount of corn in the stomach. The cow had been running on cornstalks with her herdmates. The cow had been driven hard out about 1/2 mile 2 to 6 hours prior to her death. Could the 1/2 mile hard drive been the cause of the heart hemorages and thus the death of the cow? Thank you for your opinions !<p>
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[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply Vet Vickie. The heart was enlarged and about half of it was nearly black from hemorage. The cow was still warm when posted so could not have been dead very long.The lung was clear on the top part but the bottom part of the lobe had and opaque look to it. The cornfield had been freshly harvested so the corn should not have been moldy. The cow was running with 70 other head of cattle in the same cornfield and not a one of the rest of them became ill....including calves. I did notice that all of the cattle were panting very hard even the calves and they were "drooling" at the mouth when they arrived at their destination. They may have been driven much further if they tried to elude the drivers. Their final destination was 1/2 mile from where they started but since I was not present I don't know if they took a direct route but I suspect not since I have had cattle on the same place over 20 years and I have never seen them panting hard like that on an easy drive home. They were driven hard ! The vet who did the PM did ask about mineral. The animals have had salt an mineral free choice all the time. No others have display selenium deficiency. No mention was made that she had lungoworms and I did not see any sign of it either as I watched the PM. I hope I have answered all your questions and will be happy to give you the best information I have. Thank you for helping.<p><p><p><p>: Ok, now every PM on every animal which dies shows heart hemorrhages. It's called agonal death (vs slaughtered animal's hearts...)Now the clots in the lungs could be related to a problem, again it could be normal. How soon after death was the <p><p><p><br>cow posted? How large was the heart? Normal or enlarged? What did the heart tissue look like grossly? Consistency of the lung? I know I'm not answering your question, but without this, the signifigance of the findings are unknown. Corn in the stomach? If moldy, could be signifigant. Trailing 1/2 mile should never kill a normal animal, but if she had cardiomyopathy, that could kill her. The clots could just be due to time since death, or be the cause of death. Were there any parasites present in the lungs? Lungworm can certainly kill a mature cow if the numbers are high enough (and will affect the rest of your herd). Selenium deficiency would be something else to consider. If you have any further questions, ask your vet or I'll try to help!<br>: V<br>: : A Postmortem of a cow showed it had major heart hemorages and there were clots in the lung...the only other notable thing in the autopsy was a good amount of corn in the stomach. The cow had been running on cornstalks with her herdmates. The cow had been driven hard out about 1/2 mile 2 to 6 hours prior to her death. Could the 1/2 mile hard drive been the cause of the heart hemorages and thus the death of the cow? Thank you for your opinions !<p>
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[Anonymous]

The heart was enlarged and about half of it was nearly black from hemorage. <br>This could indicate cardiomyopathy, which is a genetic disease....I have seen it in Holsteins but not beef cows, but I'm sure it's possible. The almost black indicates more severe hemorrhage than usual--possibly an blood vessel in the heart burst. Lungs on top normal (that's to be expected) Lungs under opaque (also normal, blood and fluid pools lower with gravity)<br>The other animals drooling could indicate that they were driven hard, or maybe had the same toxin/whatever and just didn't get as ill. Were any samples taken in formalin and sent to the lab? Were measurements done on the heart, was it opened and fully examined? Was her trachea opened and checked down into the lungs (small amounts of foam there can kill!)Any samples sent for toxicology?<br>It sounds like her heart got her, but why it happened is still not clear in my head.<br>Vicki
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[Anonymous]

: The heart was enlarged and about half of it was nearly black from hemorage. <br>: This could indicate cardiomyopathy, which is a genetic disease....I have seen it in Holsteins but not beef cows, but I'm sure it's possible. The almost black indicates more severe hemorrhage than usual--possibly an blood vessel in the heart burst. Lungs on top normal (that's to be expected) Lungs under opaque (also normal, blood and fluid pools lower with gravity)<br>: The other animals drooling could indicate that they were driven hard, or maybe had the same toxin/whatever and just didn't get as ill. Were any samples taken in formalin and sent to the lab? Were measurements done on the heart, was it opened and fully examined? Was her trachea opened and checked down into the lungs (small amounts of foam there can kill!)Any samples sent for toxicology?<br>: It sounds like her heart got her, but why it happened is still not clear in my head.<br>: Vicki<p>

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[Anonymous]

The animals were driven hard with a 4 wheeler. Even the calves were panting very hard when I arrived at the scene. No toxicoligy samples were sent to lab. Trechea was not opened. Is there a chance acorns could be the toxin?<p><br>: The heart was enlarged and about half of it was nearly black from hemorage. <br>: This could indicate cardiomyopathy, which is a genetic disease....I have seen it in Holsteins but not beef cows, but I'm sure it's possible. The almost black indicates more severe hemorrhage than usual--possibly an blood vessel in the heart burst. Lungs on top normal (that's to be expected) Lungs under opaque (also normal, blood and fluid pools lower with gravity)<br>: The other animals drooling could indicate that they were driven hard, or maybe had the same toxin/whatever and just didn't get as ill. Were any samples taken in formalin and sent to the lab? Were measurements done on the heart, was it opened and fully examined? Was her trachea opened and checked down into the lungs (small amounts of foam there can kill!)Any samples sent for toxicology?<br>: It sounds like her heart got her, but why it happened is still not clear in my head.<br>: Vicki<p>
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[Anonymous]

: The animals were driven hard with a 4 wheeler. Even the calves were panting very hard when I arrived at the scene. No toxicoligy samples were sent to lab. Trechea was not opened. Is there a chance acorns could be the toxin?<br>Why anyone would ever drive cattle hard with a 4 wheeler.....Far more likely to have killed than acorn ingestion.....exertion on top of a pre-existing condition=death.....acorns more likely to kill calves than cows (ppm.....)<br>v

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[Anonymous]

I have NO clue ....well yes I do....as to why the calves were driven hard with a 4 wheeler. Daftness of a very severe nature ! Thank you for your opinion and I realize it is just that since you were not able to personally do a P.M. <p>May I ask another question of you in your professional opinion? Is there a Client / Doctor relationship between a vet and his clients to not reveal information to others?<br> <p><br>: The animals were driven hard with a 4 wheeler. Even the calves were panting very hard when I arrived at the scene. No toxicoligy samples were sent to lab. Trechea was not opened. Is there a chance acorns could be the toxin?<br>: Why anyone would ever drive cattle hard with a 4 wheeler.....Far more likely to have killed than acorn ingestion.....exertion on top of a pre-existing condition=death.....acorns more likely to kill calves than cows (ppm.....)<br>: v<p>
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[Anonymous]

: May I ask another question of you in your professional opinion? Is there a Client / Doctor relationship between a vet and his clients to not reveal information to others?<br>The basic answer is yes. There are a few qualifications, however. One is if there is danger to the public at large ie Mad Cow disease or Foot and Mouth, something catastrophic to neighbouring herds or people. Another would be if the basic needs of an animal are not being met--after all, everyone needs food and water, and preferably shelter or bedding. Then, we are bound to report to the humane society. Every area is slightly different, so I'd recommend that you contact your state vet licencing body to double check what goes in your state. If your vet were to talk about your operation in a derogatory tone or tell of what has happened on your place, that's unethical and likely illegal. Any other questions, just ask.<br>V

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