Heartworms are transmitted by mosquitoes. When they bite a dog, their microscopic larvae get under the dog’s skin and then over the next 6 months gradually migrate to the heart, following the heart’s electrical impulses. Once there, they live up to 7 years and grow up to 30 centimeters, all the while causing damage to both the heart and pulmonary vessels. If untreated, this often leads to death. These adult worms also give birth to new larvae in the bloodstream. When a mosquito comes along and bites the dog, it picks these up and within 2 weeks is able to infect another dog.
The good news is that all of this can be avoided. Heartworm preventative is simple, safe and cheap. This is why veterinarians focus on prevention. There are many choices, including once a month pills like Heartgard or Sentinel, once a month topicals like Revolution, or a 6 month shot called ProHeart. Heartworm testing is required once a year to ensure compliance. If a dog were positive for heartworm and received any of the above, they could have a very serious reaction.
On the other hand, treating an infected dog is complicated, dangerous and expensive. It consists of a series of injections that can lead to pulmonary embolisms, requires nearly 2 months of strict cage rest and costs hundreds of dollars. Our goal is to avoid this in every single dog.
So if your dog is not currently on a heartworm preventative, call to schedule a heartworm test today so we can get started.
