| A heartworm
is a parasitic worm that is very common both in dogs and in cats.
As the name suggests, these parasites live in the dog's heart
and are generally found free-floating in the blood vessels that
surround the heart and in the right ventricle. Heartworms are
transmitted from dog to dog by mosquitoes, which pass the larvae
through their saliva into the dog. Heartworms can be very dangerous
and even fatal to a dog. It is difficult to detect the presence
of heartworms, as the dog will show no signs of infection until
the disease has progressed considerably. Once
infected with heartworms, a dog will show no obvious signs of
infection and the heartworms will not be detectable with a blood
test. Once the larvae reach the maturity and infect the heart,
a routine X-ray will confirm their presence almost immediately.
Damage to the blood vessels surrounding the heart and lungs
will be apparent and the heartworms will continue to grow and
multiply until the flow of blood is blocked and the dog will
exhibit other symptoms such as pain, hypertension, fainting,
breathing difficulties, and lethargy. Advanced heartworm infections
will eventually lead to heart failure and death, although by
this time the dog's owner will have noticed that something is
wrong and will have sought medical care for the dog.
Once a dog has been diagnosed with heartworms,
treatment must begin immediately. There are four stages to heartworm
infection:
Stage one is when the dog is at the lowest
risk for permanent health issues. Heartworms will appear in
X-rays but there will be no other obvious signals.
Stage two indicates a moderate infection and
the dog may have trouble breathing and/or have severe coughing.
Stage three includes a severe infection of
heartworms and the dog may lose weight, have an extremely hard
time breathing, and blood tests will show liver and/or kidney
damage.
Stage four generally includes Vena Cava Syndrome
and the dog may be in shock, essentially dying slowly. During
this stage surgery is the only method of removing the heartworms
and there is no guarantee that this will save the dog's life.
Prevention is the best medicine to ensure that
your dog does not become infected with heartworms. Preventative
measures should be taken from the time your dog is a puppy,
before he reaches seven months of age. Older dogs are at greater
risk for negative reactions and resistance to preventative treatments. |
