When heartworm symptoms occur in the dog, worms are found in the right side of the heart and lung tissue.
These are some of the main symptoms:
1. Coughing - this is the result of irritation to the lungs.
2. Weakness - blood flow to the muscles is reduced and there is restricted oxygen intake.
3. Shortness of breath/ exercise intolerance - because of the...
Although this is an uncommon event, people that are immune suppressed (for example cancer patients receiving chemotherapy or AIDS patients) are at risk for contracting heartworm disease. The source of infection is the infected mosquito. Heartworm testing can be done out-patient and does not require a physical exam. Sick or debilitated animals should have...
Your choice of preventative should be based on convenience, ease of administration, additional parasite control needed, how the pet tolerates the medication, and your budget. At your local Animal Hospital currently carry Heartguard 30, Heartguard Plus Chewables, Interceptor, Sentinel and Revolution.
All dogs should be tested (a simple blood test) on an annual basis for heartworm disease, even if they are on preventative medication. This recommendation comes from the American Heartworm Society and reflects the need to treat infection early for the best results and the least complications. Heartworm preventatives do not kill adult heartworms.
On occasion, a cat can become infected with heartworms. Normally, their immune system will kill the larvae before they develop into adults. However, if a larvae is able to mature, one or a few heartworms may complete their development into adults. They are not well adapted to the cat and if the cat survives for longer than 2 years, the heartworms will die...
Heartworms are likely to be found wherever there are mosquitoes. Therefore, locations near water are likely to have a higher incidence of heartworm disease. However, be aware that mosquitoes do travel long distances and can infect individuals anywhere along their path. Your dog does not have to be swimming regularly to get infected. Even indoor pets get...
Heartworms are difficult to kill, but there are medications available to successfully treat heartworm infection. The treatment involves killing these very large parasites inside of blood vessels and severe side effects, including death, do occur. The treatment for heartworm infection is expensive, involves a hospital stay and the complications from...
All currently marketed heartworm preventatives act by killing the larval heartworms before they mature to adults.
Heartworms reproduce in the dog's body and microscopic larval forms then circulate in the bloodstream. When a mosquito takes a blood meal, some of these larval forms go into the mosquito. These larvae have to develop in the mosquito for about 3 weeks, at which time the mosquito can pass the infective heartworm larvae to a new host.
Heartworms can kill their host animal in a variety of ways. Some dogs will have an allergic type reaction to the foreign material in the heart and vessels. Sometimes there are enough worms to actually clog up the blood vessels and valves. Occasionally we see an immune mediated disease (like Lupus or various blood abnormalities) secondary to the heartworm...
The media is a wonderful device for communication. The Animal Hospital is using the Internet as a way of communicating with you & other clients. However, with the big dollars being spent on advertising, sometimes the message is confusing. Take heartworm prevention, for instance. This spring you will see and hear hundreds of ads bombarding you with...
