Suggestion about Heartworms in Dogs - What Are and What To Do

Heartworms (Latin name Dirofilaria immitis) are parasitic worms that are common in cats and dogs. As the name suggests, live in the heart of the dog, usually floating in the ventricle and blood vessels nearby. Worms are transmitted from dog to dog by mosquitoes which pass the worm larvae through their saliva. The presence of heartworms can be very dangerous to the health of the dog. Even if the dog shows no signs of infection until they have progressed considerably, wire can be fatal and are difficult to detect and diagnose.

* The signs of heartworm infection *

If a dog is first infected with heart worm, there are literally signs and the presence of cables can not be detected with a blood test. Once the worm larva reaches the heart and ages, however, signs that are detectable by X-ray start to develop almost immediately. These include damage to blood vessels in the heart and lungs. It is rare that a dog is infected by a worm and that only the adult worms in your heart grow in size and number, conditions deteriorate, eventually causing a blockage of blood flow. That was when the dog begins showing physical signs may include pain, hypertension, difficulty breathing, lethargy or even fainting. In very advanced cases, dogs can suffer from heart failure and death, even if the time has come to this stage heartworm disease, the owner has probably realized that something was happening and asked for veterinary care.


* Treatment of heartworm infection *

Once the dog was diagnosed with a cable, the treatment should be initiated. This is and what is given depends on the stage of heartworm infection. In general, there are four stages of the worm heart disease.

• Phase One - Dogs the lowest risk - wired detected on radiographs, but all other tests appear normal.

• Phase Two  - Dogs are moderately infected, may have some difficulty breathing and a demonstration of cough

• Phase Three - Dogs are affected and may show weight loss, difficulty breathing, a blood test can show kidney damage and / or liver

• Phase Four - the vena cava syndrome and dogs are in shock, essentially dying - surgery may be performed to remove the worm, but there is no guarantee to save the dog.

When it gets to the heart in dogs, prevention is really the best medicine. The best time to begin preventive treatment is early puppy hood, before the dog is less than seven months since the dogs seven months are at high risk of adverse reactions to preventive therapy.