How Can I Prevent Heartworm Disease in My Pet?

Is Heartworm Disease Really a Threat to My Pet?

                Heartworm disease is a potentially deadly disease which is spread by mosquitoes. Dogs are the main host, but cats and ferrets may also be affected.  Heartworms are not worms found in the intestinal tract as many people think.  Rather, they are parasites that infect the bloodstream and damage the large blood vessels that enter the heart and lungs.  While a larger threat in southern states like Florida and Louisiana where mosquitoes can be found in large numbers through much of the year, heartworm disease has been identified in all fifty states.  In 2016, Pennsylvania veterinary clinics saw anywhere from one to as many as twenty-five cases per hospital. 

                As stated, heartworm disease is spread from one dog to another by a mosquito bite.  Infected mosquitoes carry heartworm larvae and inject them into the bloodstream when they bite.  The larvae then go through several life stages, eventually maturing within the heart into adult worms which can be up to twelve inches long.  These worms damage the pulmonary vessels and can eventually lead to heart failure. 

                Heartworm disease can be fatal, but, luckily, it is easy to protect your dog or cat against this deadly disease with a variety of safe and effective preventative medications.  It is much more difficult to treat a dog once infected and the treatment can carry a high chance of moderate to severe side effects.  There are no approved or effective treatments for cats or ferrets, and many will suffer complications of heart disease if infected.  Symptoms of coughing, exercise intolerance and heart failure may not appear until late in the course of disease, well after severe damage has already been done.

                Preventatives for dogs include monthly chewable drugs like Sentinel or Heartgard--many of which also treat intestinal parasites like roundworms—topical treatments like Revolution or injectable drugs like Proheart 6, a long acting heartworm preventative injected every six months by your veterinarian.  There are also products for cats such as Revolution. 

                You might think, “This can’t happen to my dog.  He doesn’t spend much time outside.”   The truth is, even indoor pets could be infected if a mosquito gets into the house.  It only takes one mosquito bite to transmit this potentially deadly disease.  Fortunately, many of our patients at Patton Veterinary Hospital are already on preventatives, which may be why we do not see more cases of heartworm disease, albeit there are usually one or two cases per year. 

                Please consider having your dog tested and using a preventative if you are not already doing so. Talk to your vet about the best options for preventing heartworm disease in your pet.

                This blog brought to you by the Patton Veterinary Hospital serving Red Lion, York and the surrounding communities.

Source:  https://www.heartwormsociety.org/pet-owner-resources/heartworm-basics