Heartworm
in Dogs
Heartworm, or Dirofilaria immitis, is
an important dog health care issue, since these nasty parasites
can create serious health problems for your dog.
Heartworm parasites are not transmitted directly from one
dog to another. Instead, the parasites are transmitted by
mosquitoes carrying heartworm larvae, which eventually develop
and inhabit the dog’s heart and nearby blood vessels.
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Since
Heartworms grow to become quite large, they can cause
a lot of damage to your dog’s health. Just imagine:
male heartworms can become about four to six inches
in length, while the females often become about twice
that long – and an infected dog can have about
30 heartworms in his little heart at the same time!
Also, a grown heartworm can actually live up to seven
years in a dog before it eventually dies.
Heartworm parasites exist in the US as
well as many other parts of the world and even though
your dog does not experience any signs of the illness,
he might still be infected (which also means that he
is a carrier of the disease and can pass it on to other
animals when bitten by a mosquito that in turn bites
another animal).
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Heartworm can easily be diagnosed with blood tests and/or
X-rays, but is undetectable for about six months after entering
the dog. In addition, you dog will not show any signs of the
illness until the grown worms are in his heart – a fact
that makes it immensely important to prevent your dog from
becoming infected in the first place.
There are a lot of effective heart worm medications on the
market today and most dogs with Heartworm can be successfully
treated. However, some complications can occur after the treatment.
When the grown worms die, they can for instance easily cause
blood clots. In addition, changes in the heart due to the
heart worms can also be hard to repair. So once again, prevention
is absolutely the best medicine!
Clinical signs of Heartworm may include, but are
not limited to:
- Cough,
- Exercise intolerance,
- Difficulty breathing,
- Abnormal lung and/or heart sounds,
- Enlargement of the liver,
- Momentary loss of consciousness (as a result of poor blood
flow to the brain)
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