VetriScience Omega Healthy Heart Easy-Open Capsules, Cardio Strength Taurine and Omega-3 Supplement for Dogs & Cats, Heart Support Supplement, 90 Count

Great and wonderful product! It was more affordable but they have increased the price that now its very expensive. My dog doesn't like the taste so I have to hide it in food.

Just a concern after reading all the reviews. I worry when I see people asking how to wean off dogs from meds without consultation from a vet. Here is why...congestive heart failure is not cured. It can be managed and progressively gets worse. Vitamins and supplements work great, but nothing works better than a combo of these two. Just wanted to put that out there in hopes people are not taking their dogs off live saving meds on their own. The progression from stage 3 to 4 is fast. Trust me I know. I have one with a grade 6 hanging on and another with a grade 3. Please please please consult with the vet before doing anything. This is their heart we are talking about. DO NOT make the mistake I made by weaning my eldest off meds on my own because I felt he was doing better, not asking my vet, and he went into crisis while on vacation. There is NOTHING worse than holding your baby in your arms as he gasps for air, eyes looking at you like "mommy why can't I breathe?" I get teary eyed thinking about it. I did that to him. Because I felt I knew more than a professional. Several hundred dollars later, a trip to the ER overnight on oxygen and round the clock lasix, I learned my lesson. Listen to the vets. Trust me, they know what they are doing. If you don't feel confident with one vet, seek a second opinion. We cannot play doctor when it comes to their little hearts. My boys now go to a cardiologist, lots of money, but well worth it. I supplement with these by suggestion from her. Please learn from others mistakes.***Update***My eldest died in August 5th, 2018...BUT My other dog has been in stable condition for two years now and his heart is very enlarged. It is a miracle and I attribute it to me taking him to the cardiologist early when his murmur was getting louder. He is on Pimobendan, Enalapril, and Spironolactone. 2 years ago he should have been gone maybe 6 months after but he is STABLE. It is a combination of the heart meds and this vitamin. This vitamin is amazing, I already have had 2 dogs use it in conjunction with the heart medications and they got better! I will never stop using these vitamins. They have given me additional time with my babies.

We now have a pug puppy so I take both the puppy and the senior to the dog park a few days a week. The senior would try to keep up with all the play and end up coughing and wheezing for at least an hour after we got home. He also seemed to be holding weight no matter how little he was fed. The final concern came when I read about the grain-free foods being associated with heart problems. Like another reviewer, I decided to buy this until the research shows what is going on with the food, and to see if it helped with the play recovery. I can say that he does seem to have more energy and he does not cough for an hour after coming home. In fact he seems to recovery pretty fast. I no longer worry he will have a heart attack at the dog park. The pills are too large for him to swallow, but I just pour the powder into some warm unsalted beef broth and pour that over his dry food. He doesn't even notice and licks the bowl clean.

If you're a cat owner, you're probably looking into this because your cat was just diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), probably with congestive heart failure (CHF). You're devastated. And you're probably desperate for info. I'll describe our experience here, including the role of VetriScience Labs Cardio Strength (later in this review). It's a bit of a long story, but bare with me. Hopefully the info will help you and your cat.Okay, so our 10-year-old cat, Melvin, was diagnosed with HCM with CHF in mid-December of 2016. Very grim diagnosis based on echocardiogram. He was in bad shape. After careful research and vet-guided experimentation, his regimen has been prescribed doses of furosemide (Lasix) and diltiazem twice a day (morning and night). It's crucial to give these regularly, and luckily they are not expensive. We get ours at a regular (human) pharmacy. We also give him 1/4 of a non-generic 81mg "low dose" aspirin every other day (in the morning). We have found that the name brand low-dose aspirin is easier to cut with a pill cutter. If you don't have a pill cutter, get one along with some 7-day pill organizers (a clear organizer for morning and a darker-colored one for night). Cutters and organizers are available on Amazon. You'll be doing a lot of cutting and pill organizing with an HCM/CHF cat.Anyway, on days where Melvin gets Lasix, diltiazem, AND aspirin, they are ALL able to fit in a size 4 clear empty gel capsule (also available on Amazon). We use the gel caps to give all medications, actually, because he has no trouble swallowing the size 4 caps (might be able to get away with size 3--just a tad bigger), and they will alleviate the bitter taste problem with ANY medication. We administer all pills with a pet pill gun (also available on Amazon). The pill gun is a godsend. You just confidently and quickly stick it back in your pet's mouth (wrap the cat in a towel if need be) and jam down the plunger. Boom! He doesn't even care about getting pills anymore. Quick and easy. No stress. We were unable to give pills before we discovered the empty gel caps trick and pill gun.Okay...so the prescribed medicine regimen was working well, but he was still having some breathing issues. This Cardio Strength supplement took us the rest of the way it seems. This is a BIG supplement pill. Luckily Melvin will take it when you sprinkle it on his food and mix it in. I wouldn't try to give this one with a pill gun. It's really big. So hopefully your cat will take it sprinkled on wet food. Otherwise you might need to get creative--maybe by splitting up the supplement into smaller gel caps and giving a couple of times a day. We just sprinkle one whole capsule over Melvin's food, IAMS MaxCal, which is a prescription diet (available through Amazon and elsewhere). It has a low sodium content, which is important.Mel is also an indoor-outdoor cat, and research has shown that the stress of not being able to go outside can really take a tool on an HCM cat. Our solution was to track him in real-time with the Pawtrack GPS collar designed specifically for cats (not yet available on Amazon, but it SHOULD BE). It's an incredible bit of technology at a very reasonable price. Cats with HCM are at risk of developing hind leg paralysis from thromboembolism. The aspirin is used to prevent this, but it's no guarantee. So, with Pawtrack we can track Mel and go to him if he seems to be in one spot for too long. I have tested this and and am able to get within 5-10 feet of him. When I get to where I think he is, I call him or activate the beeper, and there he is!!But I digress. So far Cardio Strength seems to be helping our cat more than the prescribed medications alone. I wouldn't want to drop the prescribed medications, but the supplement seems to be providing the boost that allows Mel to enjoy a high quality of life, which is critically important for us. PLEASE talk to your vet, though, before giving any supplements!! We have our fingers crossed that our comprehensive treatment plan will help keep Mel around for as long as possible. Cardio Strength seems to be helping to put a spring back in his step, and that is quite a significant thing when you consider the grim prognosis he was given. So far, so good. We continue to hope for the best and are grateful for the boost he seems to be getting from Cardio Strength.