Background:
All dogs are at risk of developing heartworm disease, regardless of
whether or not they spend most of their day indoors. Once a dog has
contracted this serious disease, treatment can be complicated, risky
and expensive. Without treatment, however, the disease is often
fatal. Therefore, heartworm prevention is the best way to protect
your dog.Heartworms are
large worms which live in the large blood vessels surrounding the
heart. They reproduce to generate microscopic microfilariae which
live in the blood stream and later develop inside mosquitos which
feed off the dog. When the mosquito bite another dog, the
microfilariae are transmitted and the disease is spread.
Clinical
Signs:
Adult heartworms obstruct the major blood vessels of a dog's lungs.
The severity of clinical signs is highly dependent on the number and
size of the worms. The most common symptom of heartworm include a
dry cough, shortness of breath, loss of appetite, weight loss,
weakness and fatigue. In more serious cases, fluid will accumulate
in the belly and may cause a noticeable swelling.
Diagnosis:
Heartworm can be identified and diagnosed early by your veterinarian
with a simple blood test, examining the blood for the presence of
microfilariae. Another type of blood test may also be performed to
rule out the possibility of an infection with worms in the absence
of microfilariae. Your veterinarian may also suspect heartworm
disease if your pet has evidence of cardiovascular disease or an
enlarged heart on x-rays.
Treatment:
The treatment for heartworm can be risky if your dog has a severe
infection with several large worms. Therefore, your veterinarian
will need to hospitalize and monitor your pet for several days
during the course of treatment. Even after the treatment, the
remains of the worms may cause serious complications, and your
veterinarian will ask you to monitor your pet very closely and
restrict all activity.
To avoid the need for treatment,
all pet owners are advised to keep their dogs on an effective
heartworm preventative, such as Interceptor, Heartgard, Sentinel or
Revolution. Regular heartworm checks should also be performed
(either once a year or every two years) to ensure that no infection
has occurred.
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