I have a calico who is 8 years old.  She has always breathed more rapidly
then other cats, and has always gotten more winded faster than my other
cats.  Now that she is getting older, I"m getting more concerned.  If
another cat chases her, or she runs around a bit playing, or even if she
goes poop in the litter box, she then breaths very rapid to the point that
I'm afraid she is going to have a heart attack.

I'm planning on taking her to the vet for a check-up and mentioning this to
the vet.  Can cats have problems like adults such as hypertention?
irregular heartbeats?  or other heart problems that people have?   Do they
have meds to help cats with these problems like they do for people?

Maybe it is an enlarged heart, maybe it is even her lungs.  I'm so scared to
bring her in for a teeth cleaning because I'm afraid if she has a heart
abnormality, anethesia may kill her.  I recently had a dog die from
anethesia so I'm so scared of it.

What sort of tests would a vet do to determine if she has a heart related
problem?