Rare shock tactic at DWR Veterinary Specialists near Six Mile Bottom saves Elmo the dog

A dog who suffered a cardiac arrest caused by his heartbeat racing out of control is beating a path to recovery after Cambridgeshire vets used a rare shock tactic to save his life.

Six-year-old Elmo, a cockapoo, was rushed to Linnaeus-owned DWR Veterinary Specialists near Six Mile Bottom where a team of cardiology and emergency and critical care vets and nurses jumped into action.

At one point, Elmo’s heartbeat had raced to an extraordinary 340bpm, caused by a very fast cardiac arrhythmia, which is life-threatening if the heart cannot be returned to its normal rhythm.

Usually, medication can do the job but Elmo wasn’t responding, so the vets decided to anaesthetise Elmo and give him an electric shock to reset his heart and allow it to go back into a normal sinus cardiac rhythm.

Alice Le Gal, consultant in emergency and critical care, who was supported by emergency and critical care resident Katie Gane, said: “The longer Elmo was having an abnormal rhythm, the more likely he was to have a cardiac arrest.

“We anaesthetised Elmo and gathered a large team for the procedure as there was a risk that Elmo’s heart could stop after the shock and he would require CPR, which we were ready to provide.

“Thankfully after the first shock was applied, Elmo’s heart went back into a much slower more normal rhythm, and he was woken up and continued on anti-arrhythmics in hospital for a few days.”

Elmo’s owner Becky Munting, who lives in Suffolk, said: “It was a complete surprise when we first found out what was wrong with Elmo.

“He was a very happy, healthy and fit dog and the previous evening had been his normal happy self.

“Despite their best efforts, the vets were struggling to stabilise Elmo’s heart using medical treatment, so the last option was to give him an electric shock to try and shock his heart back to a normal rhythm under a general anaesthetic. It was high risk.”