Heartgard Plus for Dogs

A heartworm is a worm that attacks the heart and arteries of dogs. They can grow up to 14 inches long, and are potentially life threatening if not treated properly. Dogs get worms from mosquitoes infected with the parasites. However, not all mosquitoes are carriers; there are specific kinds of mosquitoes that carry the larvae of the heartworm. In addition, the condition, environment, and presence of dogs at risk or infected dogs in the surrounding area must be present.

To understand the danger of heartworms in dogs, the nature of infection must be clear. Basically, the adult heartworms can block the flow of blood to and from the heart, and this can be fatal because it can cause blood clots, hypertension, aneurysms, or heart disease.

Heartworm treatment is absolutely necessary if you have a dog. There is preventive heartworm treatment, and there is the kind of heartworm treatment that will be prescribed by the vet if the dog already has the disease.

At this point, it is important to understand that a dog can be infected with heartworm, but not diseased.  This is because an infection does not necessarily mean that the dog has a heart with adult heartworms, just the larval heartworm on his skin.

On the other hand, a dog with worms in his heart is a sick dog. They may manifest other health problems like nose bleeds, coughing, blackish urine, or other lung conditions.

Usually, for the heartworm disease to be obvious, it takes about 5 to 7 months from the time of the mosquito bite for the microfilaria (baby worms) to develop and enter the circulatory system of the dog.

With that distinction said, heartworm treatment will then depend on the condition of the dog when examined by the vet. There are stages of heartworm problems that start with low risk to extremely high risk. These stages are known as classes.

Class I is very minimal exposure, and the dog is not affected by the presence of worms. Class II is moderate infection with distinct signs of a heart condition. Class III is severe infection and this can be seen from sudden weight loss, problems with breathing, and anemia. Class IV is the stage that needs surgery to save the life of the dog.

Prior to heartworm treatment, the doctor must identify what stage or class the dog is in. In fact, it is possible that if the infection is very minimal, or the dog is very old, the vet will opt to forego treatment, provided the dog is not in any pain or discomfort.

For Class I, a preventive monthly or a 3 month treatment program of Heartgard or Tri-heart will bring the situation under control. If the dog has severe infection, the doctor could recommend treatment from all angles. This means a treatment to attack the baby worm, another for the larvae living on the skin and yet another to treat the adult worms.

There are commercial heartworm treatments that aim to eradicate microfilaria present on the skin if done periodically. For extreme cases wherein tests show that the dog has many worms in the heart, and have started infecting the large veins, then the only solution is surgery. The dog will have to undergo a procedure which will require the vet to surgically remove the worms from the jugular vein in order to save the life of the dog.

Without heartworm treatment, your dog can die. This is because his immune system will be compromised, and the dog will experience pain from inflammation and tissue damage. However, before you push the panic button, get a consult (or two) with an experienced vet to find out the exact condition of your dog.