From:
ferretsonly
Date: 2002-02-23 00:15:00 UTC
Subject: Low blood pressure & Enacard
It was the phone call no one wants to get. "Melissa has crashed." I
took Melissa to the vet this morning as a drop off appointment
because I noticed this morning that she was walking up the steps like
a German Shepard and fatigued easily. Since she will be 9 years old
in June, I suspected that the cause was not a physical injury such as
a fall. Other than her inflammatory bowel disease (which is
controlled with Imuran and diet), she has been doing very well for
her advanced age. I have a soft spot in my heart for her because I
rescued her in 1996 from a situation of neglect.
I had authorized a blood draw and as they were restraining her, she
suddenly stopped squirming and turned blue. I'm told they
immediately started her on oxygen and got her breathing again.
They finally managed to get a catheter in her by using a syringe to
slightly inflate her veins. This was a clue that her blood pressure
was weak.
They then tried to get blood but only got a drop which they tested
for glucose. It was fine (104). They started fluids and by then I
got there, she was recovering. Since they really wanted to get a
blood draw and after a lot of persuasion, I authorized another
attempt to draw blood. Nothing. One more try produced the same
results. I stopped the stress of the blood draws (Melissa is a fear
biter) which also meant that we would have to figure out what was
wrong without the benefit of a CBC.
One of my vets mentioned Melissa's heart problem. It dawned on me.
Enacard. I had seen this exact same response 7 years ago with
Magellan. Hillyer/Quesenberry says (page 67) "Ferrets appear to be
sensitive to the hypotensive effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme
inhibitors and can become lethargic and inappetent 1 to several days
after the start of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor therapy."
With Magellan, it had been almost 3 months after starting daily
Enacard (increased from the every-other-day dose). I checked the
records and Melissa started daily Enacard on December 1, 2001 - 11
weeks ago. She was apparently suffering from severe low blood
pressure. We are pulling her off Enacard for a while and then may
eventually start her on a low every-other day dose to see if she
tolerates the drug (Magellan couldn't handle it at all). While
Hillyer says the reaction should occur sooner, this hasn't been my
experience.
For me, this was a reminder to use extreme care with Enacard and
monitor your ferret carefully! It's a wonderful drug *IF* your
ferret can tolerate it!
-Carla