Heartworm disease has been diagnosed in all 50 states. Dr. Shelby Neely, a veterinarian with decades of experience, explains what heartworm disease is and why it’s so important to protect your pets.
by Dr. Shelby Neely
Heartworm disease is just as it sounds – worms in your pet’s heart. However, it doesn’t start that way. The parasitic worms’, known scientifically as Dirofilaria immitis, life cycle begins when a dog has immature larvae called microfilariae circulating in the bloodstream. When mosquitoes bite, they ingest the microfilariae, which, inside the mosquito, transform into infective larvae. When the mosquito bites another animal, it transfers the infective larvae into the pet’s bloodstream. They then can migrate to the heart, lungs, and blood vessels, becoming adult heartworms. Once there, they can cause severe damage, even leading to death.
Symptoms of Heartworm Disease
There may be no symptoms in the early stages of the disease. That’s why it is essential to have your veterinarian check with a blood test periodically. However, as the disease progresses, there will be symptoms such as:
- Coughing
- Fatigue
- Decreased exercise tolerance
- Weight loss
- Difficulty breathing
As heartworm disease continues to progress, the symptoms can become quite severe, leading to heart failure and potentially fatal complications. As a vet, I have had my heart broken more than once by owners in emotional pain because they hadn’t used preventatives, and their pets didn’t survive.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis of heartworm disease in pets generally requires more than one step. First, your veterinarian will examine your pet thoroughly and ask about any symptoms. Blood tests will be performed to detect microfilariae and adult worms in the bloodstream. X-rays and ultrasounds of the heart and lungs can be invaluable in revealing abnormalities in the chest.
Treatment Options
Treatment of heartworm in dogs can be very complex and expensive. There is no treatment for cats. Treating them is more dangerous than having the disease. There are two treatment goals for dogs with heartworm. The primary goal is to eliminate the adult worms from the body. There is a costly medication to accomplish that, but it works well most of the time. In severe cases, it may be necessary for your dog to undergo surgery to remove large amounts of worms from the heart and blood vessels. The second goal is to treat any symptoms caused by damage to the heart and lungs.
Preventing Heartworm Disease
It’s much easier and less expensive, both emotionally and financially, to prevent heartworm disease than to treat it. Remember, prevention is especially essential for cats, because they cannot be treated. Prevention is easy for dogs and cats. There are monthly oral and topical heartworm preventatives and a 6-month- and 12-month dog injection.
The purpose of the preventatives is to kill the immature larvae before they develop into adult worms. Heartworm testing is also recommended at least annually. Since mosquitoes carry the disease, it can be helpful to consider mosquito repellents.
Staying current on heartworm preventatives is a must for the best protection. Services like Allivet’s AutoShip, which provides automatic delivery, make it easier to never miss a dose as you won’t have to remember to reorder.
Heartworm Disease: a Preventable but Potentially Deadly Disease
Heartworm is preventable, but it’s becoming more common. It is now in all 50 states. Please have your pets tested and give them preventative medication for their sake and your own. It’s heartbreaking to find out your pet has heartworm, and it didn’t have to happen. Help decrease the number of heartworm cases each year by seeing your veterinarian today.
Dr. Shelby Neely is a Penn graduate who works for Banfield Pet Hospital. When she’s not treating pets, she also works as a freelance writer. Before joining Banfield, Dr. Neely owned a very successful feline-only practice. She was also the creator and author of the award-winning Ask The Cat Doctor website. Dr. Neely considers her three successful children and her veterinary career her most significant achievements. She lives in King of Prussia with her two adorable cats and loves to visit her four granddogs.