Heartworm disease in pets is preventable

 by Cindy Anderson, DVM

Heartworm disease is one of the most common, harmful, and potentially fatal diseases contracted by pets, especially dogs. In fact, more than a million pets in the U.S. have heartworms. It’s a severe disease caused by parasitic worms living in your pet’s heart, lungs, and surrounding blood vessels. Heartworms can cause severe lung disease, heart failure, damage to other major organs and death in severe cases.

Transmission

It only takes one bite from an infected mosquito for your pet to fall victim to heartworms. After the bite, the heartworm larvae invade your pet’s bloodstream, traveling to the heart and lungs. Fortunately, heartworms can’t be transmitted from one pet to another. Mosquito bites are the only way pets can contract heartworm disease.

Signs/symptoms

The symptoms of heartworm disease vary based on the number of heartworms living inside your pet, how long it’s been infected, how its body is responding to the presence of heartworms, and how active it is. Some of the identified signs and symptoms linked to heartworm disease are mild persistent coughing, reduced activity level, fatigue — especially after physical activity, decreased appetite, weight loss, trouble breathing, heart failure and swollen belly from excess fluid.

Treatment

Implementing various heartworm prevention measures is one of the best treatments, protecting your pet from contracting heartworms. However, if your pet does happen to contract heartworms from an infected mosquito, the American Heartworm Society has a set treatment protocol that works well to cure heartworm disease. Treatment consists of oral antibiotics and steroids administered at home, along with a series of injections given at the hospital by a  veterinarian. Treatment spans over several months and your dog will need to be kept calm for the duration of care. Your dog only will be able to go for short walks to go to the bathroom and should not run, play, or do anything that would cause it to exert itself. If your pet is diagnosed with advanced heartworm disease, veterinarians will guide you through the entire treatment process. They also can give advice on the best treatment options.

Regular testing

Heartworm is a very serious and progressive disease, so your pet should be tested regularly for early detection and a better chance at recovery. The test requires taking a blood sample from your pet and testing it for the heartworm antigen released into your pet’s bloodstream by female heartworms. Heartworm antigens can be detected in the bloodstream up to five months after being bitten by an infected mosquito. There’s also a test that detects microfilariae in your pet’s bloodstream, indicating that it is actively infected with adult heartworms. Microfilariae can be detected in your pet’s bloodstream about six months after it was bitten, since heartworms typically have a slow development. Regular testing and heartworm prevention measures for your pet are key to avoiding the disease.

For any questions that you may have about heartworm disease, contact Dr. Cindy Anderson and the staff at Lakelands Trail Veterinary Clinic, 4525  S. M-52, Stockbridge, MI 49285, 517-655-5551.

Cindy Anderson, DVM

Cindy Anderson, DVM,  is a graduate of MSU Veterinary College (1992) and has practiced veterinary medicine for over 28 years.