We typically progress in the following order as we treat mild to severe heart failure: First, we treat with salt-restricted diets, then with diuretics such as furosemide, which increases urination.
Furosemide is the only medication on which horses are permitted to compete in this country, a fact that Ed Martin says puts racing above the Olympics on the integrity scale.
Official conversations about medication in racing are a fairly common occurrence these days, many of them centering on the raceday use of furosemide, also known as Lasix or Salix, a diuretic that has been proven to reduce pulmonary bleeding in racehorses, bleeding that is often the result of strenuous exercise.