What is heartworm

Heartworms Dirofilaria immitis are parasitic worms that are transmitted to dogs by mosquitoes. These microscopic larvae develop under the skin, then migrate to the blood vessels of the heart and lungs of the infected animal where they rapidly grow, becoming adults that are inches in length. Not all dogs develop noticeable symptoms. While blood tests performed by your veterinarian are the only way to confirm a diagnosis of heartworm disease in dogs, here are five warning signs that are reported in dogs with heartworm disease:.

Keep in mind, these symptoms may be consistent with signs of other conditions, and a blood test performed by your vet is the only way to confirm a diagnosis of heartworm disease. If you have concerns, please contact your vet immediately.

If your vet determines your dog has heartworms, killing the adult heartworms is the next step. That's why vets recommend keeping your dog on a heartworm disease preventive year-round and visiting your clinic yearly for regular testing. If you suspect your dog has heartworm disease, don't wait - talk to your vet immediately.

If heartworm disease is confirmed, your dog will undergo treatment at the veterinary clinic based on how advanced the disease is. Unfortunately, most treatments can be a long, painful, and expensive process. Heartworms are transmitted from an infected animal to your healthy dog through mosquitoes. When an infected mosquito bites your dog, the mosquito can also pass on infective larvae.

Over 6 to 7 months, these larvae develop into adult heartworms, causing severe health issues and potentially death. Heartworm disease prevention works by eliminating heartworm larvae before they grow into adults and migrate to the arteries of the lungs and heart. Before getting a prescription for a heartworm disease preventative, your dog must be tested for heartworms.

Testing can be done by your local vet. The most convenient and effective heartworm prevention is a yearly injection administered by your veterinarian. This can be given from 12 weeks of age, then boosted at 6 months.

Tablets or top-spot applications are the best products available to prevent heartworm infection in cats. You can purchase high-quality heartworm products that also cover intestinal worms, with some also controlling fleas.

We know your cat can be difficult to medicate, so regular visits to the vet where a professional can administer them for you is a good idea. Remember that prevention is always the best medicine. Keep your pet happy and healthy all year round by sticking to a good preventative treatment plan.

Heartworm Signs, Treatment and Prevention. What is heartworm? What are the signs of heartworm? Cats Usually, there are few clinical signs of heartworm in cats. How do I diagnose heartworm in my pet? How common is heartworm? Can heartworm be treated? Furthermore, you are helping to keep your dog from being a source of heartworm larvae microfilaria for mosquitoes to pick up and eventually infect other dogs.

This approach makes the treatment of the existing infection more effective. Your veterinarian is recommending what is best. Only one drug, which is called melarsomine, is approved by the U. Food and Drug Administration FDA for treatment of heartworm infection in dogs; this drug should be administered by injection in the veterinary hospital.

Cage rest and drastically restricted exercise during this period can decrease the chances of complications from treatment. Along with melarsomine, the heartworm treatment protocol recommended by the American Heartworm Society includes several other medications that help improve the chances of treatment success and reduce the incidence of side effects. This includes administering a heartworm preventive medication to an infected dog for 2 months prior to melarsomine treatment.

Long-term, continuous use of heartworm preventives alone to treat heartworm infections, however, is not recommended as an alternative to melarsomine, because it is well documented that additional damage to the heart and lungs occurs the longer adult heartworms are present.

After treating a dog with melarsomine injections, adult worms may continue to die for more than a month following this treatment. Heartworm antigen testing is the most reliable method of confirming that all of the adult heartworms have been eliminated. Although many dogs are antigen-negative 16 weeks after treatment, it can take longer for the antigen to be completely cleared from some dogs.

Additionally, even though melarsomine is highly effective, a single course of treatment may not completely clear all dogs of infection the American Heartworm Society protocol calls for three separate injections of melarsomine.

Consequently, in most cases, a dog that is still antigen positive at 4 months should be rechecked 2 to 3 months later before determining whether there are still adult heartworms remaining, and a second treatment course may be required.

Just like dogs and cats, ferrets can become infected with heartworms, and are at risk even if they are indoor pets. While dogs may not show symptoms until they have many worms infecting their hearts, lungs, and blood vessels, just one worm can cause serious respiratory distress in a ferret. Preventing heartworm disease is much less expensive and much safer than treating it, just as it is for other pets, and your veterinarian can prescribe heartworm medication approved for use in ferrets.

The American Heartworm Society recommends year-round prevention for ferrets as well as regular checkups with a veterinarian to ensure they stay healthy and heartworm-free.

As with all drugs or pharmaceutical products, heartworm preventives should be used before the expiration date on the package, because it is impossible to predict if it will be effective or safe. The expiration date is established by a series of tests mandated by the U. Food and Drug Administration to provide assurance that the product is effective and has undergone no significant deterioration.

You need to consult your veterinarian, and immediately re-start your dog on monthly preventive—then retest your dog 6 months later. The reason for re-testing is that heartworms must be approximately 7 months old before the infection can be diagnosed. How do you select a heartworm treatment protocol? Veterinary parasitologist Dr. To make matters worse, many are infected with hea…. The bad news: a cat has tested Heartworm-positive. Heartworm Basics. If so, why? How do monthly heartworm preventives work?

I heard that certain heartworm prevention medications can also protect against intestinal parasites. Is this true? At what age should young animals be started on heartworm prevention? What do I need to know about prevention in my new pet? Are heartworms more common in certain areas of the United States? I live in a northern state. How long should my pet be on heartworm prevention? I live in the desert where it is very dry and there are very few mosquitoes. My vet says I should use monthly prevention.

What should I do? Is there a vaccine for heartworm disease? Is there an effective natural prevention for heartworm? What causes a dog to die from heartworm disease? Does the age of a dog have anything to do with better success in treatment of heartworm disease? My dog has heartworms. My vet started her on monthly prevention before he started treatment. Is this OK? My veterinarian recommends a series of injections, hospitalization, pain medication, and lab work to safely treat my pet.

Is there any other treatment available? My dog was treated for heartworm 4 months ago and his heartworm test is still positive. What does this mean? I have a ferret. Should I be giving it heartworm prevention? Can I still use the medication? I have missed 2 months of heartworm prevention for my dog. Latest News. The Pandemic Effects on Heartworm Prevention.

Veterinary Treatment Facility reminds pet owners of heartworm disease risks. Heartworms are a serious and potentially fatal disease that mainly affects dogs, cats and ferrets Heartworm cases on the rise this time of year. Experts say prevention starts now Heartworm can be turn into a deadly disease if not treated Veterinarians need to stress year-round mosquito control. While heartworm is a serious and potentially deadly disease, it is, fortunately, also preventable Mosquito season is especially dangerous for pets.

Here's how to keep them safe. Keeping your furry friend safe is especially key as a common pest starts to reappear along with April is National Heartworm Awareness Month, providing the perfect opportunity to emphasize the April is National Heartworm Awareness Month. More than a million pets in the United States have heartworms. Let that sink in, because it is one