Heartworm

Heartworm can pose a serious risk to the health of your dog or cat. Heartworms are a parasitic worm (about the thickness of a piece of spaghetti) that can normally live in your pet’s heart and nearby blood vessels. These parasites are transmitted from one dog to another by mosquitoes and pose a serious pet health risk.

Heartworm can be diagnosed with blood tests, and/or X-rays, along with other tests but can be difficult to detect until they have reached sexual maturity which is generally 6 months after they have infected your dog.

Heartworm has been diagnosed worldwide. In most areas of the United States heartworm is a serious pet health care concern and most vets recommend heartworm prevention medication. Prior to taking this pet medication your dog should be first tested for heartworm to avoid serious reactions. Pre-testing is not necessary if your dog is younger than 7 months.

Puppies should generally be started on heartworm prevention medication by 8 weeks of age and then should be blood tested for heartworm at 7 months of age. All dogs should be tested for heartworm on a regular basis. If your dog has faithfully been administered monthly heartworm prevention medication then testing need only be done every 2-3 years. If your dog has missed any doses or is not given the pet medication year round then he or she should be tested annually.
Although it was once thought that cat’s didn’t get heartworm that thought has now been disproven. In cats, the presence of heartworm can be more difficult to detect and the current tests are not completely reliable. Therefore preventative heartworm medication is often started without pre- testing unless obvious signs of a heartworm infection are noticed.

In any geographical area where dogs can get heartworm, cats can also get infected. The current rate of infection in cats is roughly 5 to 20% that of dogs in the same geographical location. Until recently, it was thought that heartworm disease in cats was so rare that prevention medication was not needed.

This view is evolving as veterinary science has discovered that many cat heartworm infections were missed as heartworm disease in cats does not commonly present with the same symptoms as it does in dogs. Furthermore, the signs and symptoms of heartworm disease in cats mimics the signs and symptoms of other cat diseases.

The education of dog and cat owners about heartworm disease has increased over the past few decades. Unfortunately, despite the increased awareness, the spread of heartworm disease has increased. Dogs especially now commonly travel with their owners. This is a fairly recent trend. Dog owners were often unaware they were visiting heartworm region or country and perhaps jeopardizing pet health. Often their pets would become infected and the heartworm would then be brought back to their home environment unwittingly. Heartworm disease is now spread all over the world and is a serious peat health issue.

To protect your pet’s health it is important to understand the life cycle of the heartworm and the damage heartworm can cause your pet. Once this is understood then it will make sense why it is wiser to prevent a heartworm infection than to treat a heartworm infection. The heartworm goes through a total of four molting stages while maturing into an adult worm. The first two molts occur while still inside the mosquito while the next two occur inside the infected pet. After the first two molts the heartworm larvae moves into the mosquito’s salivary glands. At this point the mosquito can infect your pet.

Once your pet gets bitten by the mosquito and becomes infected, the worm takes approximately 6 months to go through the last two molts, becomes sexually mature and travel to your pet’s heart. Once the heartworm is sexually mature it can be detected by a Heartworm test. The heart worm will stay in the heart and grow rapidly in length and size. The worm will live in the heart until it dies after 5-7 years.

Adult female worms have been known to grow up to 14 inches in length. Some pets are infected with numerous worms. This mass of intertwined and tangled worms can serve as a significant mechanical blockage to the normal flow of blood and can be tremendously damaging to pet health. The blood vessels in and around the heart are literally blocked by worms.

Once the heart worm reaches sexual maturity it will continue to produce young for many years. The treatment of heartworm has advanced considerably over the past few years but it is still not easy. No single type of pet medication can rid your dog of both heartworms and the larvae. Sometimes invasive and expensive surgery is required.

Avoiding or preventing heartworm disease in your dog or cat is definitely easier than treating heartworm disease. Heartworm prevention is a very important issue relating to pet health. The most common heartworm prevention medications are given once per month by the pet owner. This pet medication kills the immature Heartworm larvae before they can molt into the final worm stage. If the medication is given regularly, it is very effective in preventing your dog from getting a heartworm infection and eventual developing heartworm disease.

Be a responsible pet owner and speak to your vet about pet health and heartworm medication.