Heartworm Symptoms

The right chamber of the heart, which is the pulmonary artery, is the area which is mostly affected by heartworms. These are parasites which reside in the heart of dogs as well as cats. Although, humans are not susceptible to become the host of these worms, there have been very rare cases. Clinically known as dirofilaria immitis, a heartworm is generally 6-14 inches in length and a female measures longer than a male. These worms are transmitted by mosquitoes and not from animal to animal. The worms are injected directly into the blood stream of the animal through the bite of a mosquito which might have bitten a heart-worm infected animal. Southern United States, South America and the Caribbean are the common places which fall in the high risk category where canines suffer from heartworms. This is due to the reason that these places are warm/humid and thus, offer an ideal environment for mosquitoes to survive all the year round.

Symptoms Exhibited by Dogs With Heartworm Infestation

The most prominent symptoms in puppies and dogs are soft and dry coughing. This occurs due to the worms which find their way towards the lungs. The worms which gradually get matured inside the heart produce irritation of the heart and blood vessels. This causes the blood flow to thicken and suffer from blockage. Liver blood vessels may also be affected by these parasites and hence, liver failure is also one symptom. As the condition worsens with time, you may notice your pet to suffer from fluid-build up in the abdomen, fatigue, breathing difficulties, bloody sputum and intolerance to exercises and any other physical activities. Jaundice, loss of appetite and collapse are the other symptoms which crop up when the liver gets affected.

Heartworm infestation is diagnosed by simple blood tests. One test will be to confirm the presence of the worms which are immature and the other test will be performed to detect the presence of antigens in the blood stream which have been produced by the parasites.

Treatment

The treatment of heartworms mainly involves elimination of the adult worms with the help of an arsenic-based compound. Melarsomine dihydrochloride is known to be a drug which has been approved in the US, for heartworm treatment. The worms are killed gradually over a period of time. If all the worms are eliminated at the same time, then the dead bodies would flush into the lungs of the animal and make it to be deprived of oxygen. The chemicals which are used for the treatment are not only toxic to the parasites, but to the affected animal as well. In some cases which might get severe, surgical procedure may be one of the considerable options to be opted for. Keeping your pets on monthly or daily heartworm prevention medication is better than letting them suffer from such uncomfortable symptoms and undergo the risks of the treatment. It is essential to have a discussion with a vet regarding such medications, as they might not work as expected for all dog breeds. If the weather is frequently staying warm, you may also have to consider to go for a year round prevention, to cut down on the risks of invasion of mosquitoes.

Owners can also take up some measures in order to have a mosquito-controlled environment. Dogs residing in a mosquito free area, do not have to be on any kind of heartworm prevention medications. So, simply keeping a check on mosquitoes can solve more than half of the problem!