Heartworm Disease

Dog's Experience With Heartworm
Pet Owner Resources - Heartworm Basics

Now that spring is arriving, it's important to remember your dog's heartworm preventive! 

Here is my PSA about heartworms:
Heartworm disease can result in lung disease, heart disease, and even be fatal to your dog and cat. Heartworms are transferred by mosquito, so yes even your indoor cat can get them from the rare mosquito that travels into your house. When the mosquito bites your animal, it transfers the microfilaria into their bloodstream. It takes 6-7 months for the microfilaria to mature into heartworms and only then will the heartworm test at your vet's show up positive.  A dog can harbor up to hundreds of worms if left untreated.

Signs: The longer the heartworms have been living inside your pet, the more severe the signs. An early infection typically won't show any signs (yay your vet caught it early enough!). However, if gone undiagnosed, then signs can include coughing, exercise intolerance, generalized loss of body condition,  and/or trouble breathing).

Diagnosis: An annual heartworm should be done at your veterinarian.  It's a simple blood test that only takes a few drops of blood. If the test shows up positive, then your veterinarian should look at that blood under a microscope to see if they can see the actual worm swimming around in your pet's blood. Then, a radiograph of the chest can be performed in order to figure out which stage the heartworm disease is in based on any changes noticed in the heart and/or lungs.

When To Test: Dogs are typically tested around a year of age, since like I said, it takes 6-7 months before a heartworm test will show up positive. This is an annual blood test because let's face it, sometimes we forget to give them their preventive or we are a few days late in giving it. If you switch heartworm preventives, you should also get your dog tested to ensure the products are working accurately. Nothing is 100% effective.

Treatment: Yes, there is a treatment, but it's not easy on your dog or your wallet. It requires radiographs, bloodwork, hospitalization, and several deep muscle injections. The injections are basically arsenic into your pet's body and can be just as fatal as being left untreated. Your pet has to be confined without being able to run around for months so that the heartworms don't get lodged in a blood vessel and cause serious complications! The entire process from diagnosis to restesting every treatment will take an entire year. Treatment can easily cost over $1000. Lucky for you, if you use the same product every single month, can prove that you have purchased it from a reputable vet (not online stores), and have given it to your dog, then most likely that product's company will help you pay for the treatment.

Prognosis: It depends on how early heartworm disease is caught, but like I have stressed, it can be fatal. That's why vets stress the importance of preventives so much!

Preventive:  There is everything from once a month pill/chew/topical, to every 6 month injections! That's it! I typically recommend that clients give the chew on the first of the month so that it's easier to remember. There's a wide variety of types of preventive out there, so talk to your vet about which one is right for your pet. Ex: Collies aren't able to have Ivermectin (it's toxic to them and causes neurological issues), so make sure that you don't use a product that has that active ingredient in it such as Heartgard.

Random Facts: Heartworm disease affects dogs, cats and ferrets, but heartworms also live in other mammal species, including wolves, coyotes, foxes, sea lions and—in rare instances—humans. Heartworm disease has been detected in all 50 states, so your pet should be on it year round no matter where you live.