Free pacemakers offer hope to ailing dogs in Turkey

As a first in Turkey, dogs with arrhythmia will undergo cardiac pacemaker surgery. A group of researchers at the Ankara University Veterinary Faculty submitted the project to the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK), which has been recently approved. Working and pet dogs may suffer from arrhythmia, which shows itself with fatigue, faint and difficulty in walking and other daily activities. Professor Aziz Arda Sancak, one of the team members, said that cardiac pacemaker surgery is carried out in other countries like the U.K. Ayjamal Radgohar, another team member specializing in cardiac pacemaker surgery at the University of Liverpool, said pets in the U.K. receive high-quality health treatment, adding that cardiac pacemaker surgery is very common there. To place a cardiac pacemaker in a dog, the animal's weight, blood pressure and other general health conditions must be suitable for the surgery. Following a physical examination, the dog's circulatory system is also analyzed. Necessary health scans including electrocardiogram and blood and urine tests as well as radiographic examinations are undertaken. Cardiac pacemakers will be placed in dogs free of charge as the project is financially funded by TÜBİTAK.