Chloe Perry was 8.5 when she was diagnosed with a heart murmur by our local vet’s mobile echocardiogram machine, they determined she had mitral valve disease.  Our local vet said that a cardiology consult was unnecessary since the medical treatment is straight forward. Three weeks later I opted to get a cardiology consult with a well-known expert, Dr. George Kramer in Bohemia, Long Island, NY. Dr. Kramer informed me that Chloe’s heart was very large and verified she had MVD. Chloe also had severe pulmonary hypertension. He changed her medications accordingly. 

  On the second visit I asked him about the Mighty Hearts Project and Nate Estes. He said he was very familiar with the cause and had sent 17 dogs to Dr. Masami Uechi for mitral valve surgery in Japan. He said he would be totally supportive and help us get Chloe’s medical records reviewed by the JASMINE Clinic, I am glad I did.  I learned a ton of information from the Mighty Hearts MVD Community Facebook group.  I’m extremely grateful for the support I received from this group.

In February of 2021, Chloe’s condition rapidly deteriorated. She spent several days in Dr Kramer’s hospital with congestive heart failure. Although her pulmonary hypertension was under control the mitral valve disease worsened and her heart grew rapidly. Her LA:AO was 2.65 which is very large. Her trachea and bronchioles were getting crushed, and the coughing and panting were hard to manage. The Jasmine clinic gave us a surgery date of 7/6/21.

With a timeline in sight, Dr Kramer’s objective was to keep her stable to make it to Japan. He changed her diuretic to a stronger brand called Torsemide. After this change we had to carefully monitor her kidneys values.  With the assistance from the Mighty Hearts Project family, I was able to obtain a travel visa and maneuver through the newly established pandemic requirement rules for Japan.

The day came to finally travel to Japan. Dr. Kramer gave me emergency Lasix syringes and medication for the flight. Traveling solo to Japan and having to quarantine for 14 days wasn’t an easy task. My first text in Japan was from my wife and second from Dr Kramer requesting an update. He was very concerned that Chloe couldn’t hang on until surgery.

Dr. Sayaka Takeuchi was Chloe’s treating cardiologist in Japan. She was amazing and provided me daily updates while I was quarantined in my Airbnb apartment because of the Covid requirements. Dr. Takeuchi said that Chloe’s mitral valve was in extremely poor condition and her heart size may not shrink too much. Chloe had her surgery and remained in the hospital for 7 days and had the best cardiology care in the world.

Chloe was released from Jasmine, a few days later we had our final checkup before leaving Japan after spending 21 days in Japan.  After arriving back home we saw Dr. Kramer for her one-month post op visit. Dr. Kramer and his staff were so happy to see Chloe.  Dr. Kramer told me to discontinue several of her medications, Chloe’s regurgitation was mild, no more pulmonary hypertension and her LA:AO heart size was 1.4. The hardest part at home was keeping Chloe’s activity restricted for the 90 days of recovery. It is important after surgery to restrict activity as the heart heals. We see Dr. Kramer next month for a 3-month post op visit.

It’s a truly amazing experience that we took a dog to Japan in Stage D heart failure, panting, bluish tongue, at the end of her life and now she’s been given the gift of time. She is happy, frisky and like her old self again. We are extremely fortunate to have stumbled across the Mighty Hearts Project organization, to have consulted with Dr Kramer and are now able to share our journey!!! We hope many others will be able to receive this incredible medical care and successful outcome.

Brad & Chloe

Breed: Cockapoo
Age: 10
Diagnosis: Stage D
Surgery Date: July 6th, 2021
Hometown: Long Island, New York, United States
Owner: Brad Perry
Cardiologist: Dr. George Kramer, Atlantic Coast Veterinary Specialist
Surgical Team: Dr. Masami Uechi & Team at, Jasmine Cardiovascular Medical Center