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Treatment

Only patients showing clinical signs need treatment, and only patients requiring electrophysiologic testing of the heart, or implantation of an artificial pacemaker will need to be hospitalized.

Dogs that do not respond to medical therapy, or have adverse medical side effects to therapy, and/or dogs with abnormally fast/abnormally slow heart rate syndrome will need to have an artificial pacemaker implanted. Attempts to manage an abnormally fast or abnormally slow heart rate syndrome medically, without prior pacemaker implantation, carry a significant risk of worsening the extremes of the abnormally fast or abnormally slow heart rate syndrome.

Living and Management

While your dog is healing from this condition, you will need to keep its physical activity to a minimum. Encourage rest in a quiet, non-stressful environment as much as possible, away from other pets or active children. Although therapy for SSS may seem to work at the beginning of treatment, medical therapy commonly does not work. The only alternative in these instances is surgical correction.