Heartworm Life Cycle

Heartworm is a parasitic roundworm that can grow to be a 14-inch long adult. The worms are often found residing in the right side of the animal's heart and arteries of the lungs. The infection spreads from animal to animal by mosquito bites. It causes potentially severe damage to the arteries, leading to heart failure, and in extreme cases also affects other body organs like the liver and kidneys. It prevents the heart from functioning properly by causing blockage in the blood vessels. Commonly found in dogs and cats, these worms have also been detected in ferrets, foxes, wolves, sea lions and sometimes even in humans.

Heartworm Life Cycle

Heartworm life cycle begins with the adult female heartworm reproducing young heartworms called microfilariae into the animal's bloodstream. When mosquitoes bite the infected animal, they carry these microfilariae, which stay within the mosquitoes for next 10 - 14 days and mature to the larval stage. When these mosquitoes bite another animal, the larvae enter in to that animal's body, and take nearly six months to develop into mature adult heartworms. The adult heartworms release young heartworms which circulate in the blood and cause blood flow thickness and blockage. This same cycle goes on repeating and they reproduce and also infect other animals too. Heartworms can live up to 6 - 7 years in the animal's body.

Heartworm Symptoms

Since the number of heartworms in the animals tends to accumulate slowly over a period of months, the clinical symptoms of the infection may not be recognized in the initial stages. Especially heartworm in dogs or heartworm in cats during the initial stages exhibit no signs of the disease. But eventually they may show symptoms like:

• Mild and persistent cough
• Fatigue or reluctance to move or exercise
• Reduced appetite
• Weight loss
• Breathing difficulties
• Vomiting, gagging and even collapsing

Prevention and Treatment for Heartworm Infection

The American Heartworm Society recommends the pet owners to take necessary preventive measures to protect their pets from this life-threatening disease. Since the disease is preventable, there are many options for preventing the infection in animals, especially in dogs and cats, like daily tablets and chewables, monthly topicals and a six-month injectable product. These medications disrupt the heartworm growth before the adult worms reach the lungs and cause infection. When administered regularly on a timely schedule by a veterinarian and the pet owner, these medications are extremely effective and can prevent the infection completely.

A chemical therapy can be used to treat heartworm in animals. The worms are killed by injecting a drug called adulticide into the muscle during the series of treatments. As the treatment involves use of chemicals, hospitalization is usually recommended and should be administered by a veterinarian, because the dead worms may get deposited in the lungs and can even kill the animal. If the infection reaches a non-curable or last stage, surgery is the best option. There are variety of medications designed to destroy the microfilaria inside the animal's body. Though these medications may not provide 100% intervention, they should also been given under a veterinarian's supervision.

Therefore, if you observe any of the above mentioned heartworm symptoms in your pet, do not ignore them and immediately take your pet to the veterinarian, as early diagnose will save the animal from chronic heart failure and eventual death. You can also implement some preventive measures to maintain your pet's health, like keeping the sleeping area clean, using repellent sprays or giving prescribed preventive medications. I am sure now you must be having a fair idea of the heartworm life cycle, its infection and various other factors associated with it.