Love Your Pet By Watching For Heart Worms

Heart worms (Dirofilaria immitus) are parasitic worms. They range in size from 3-6 inches in length and they infect the hearts of dogs.

These worms are transmitted from dog to dog by mosquitoes. The larval or baby stage of the worm is sucked from the blood of an infected dog when he is bitten by a mosquito. After a period of time these larval stages become infective, and then when the mosquito bites another dog, the worm is transmitted to the new dog. During the next few months the larval stage travels through the body of the new dog, finally arriving at the heart. There, the baby worms mature into adults and damage the dog’s heart.

The disease is commonest in warmer parts of the world where mosquitoes are active because mosquitoes are necessary to transmit the worm from dog to dog. Large dogs, short haired dogs, and dogs always kept outside suffer more from this disease.

Symptoms include premature aging, decrease in activity level, and a coat that lacks shininess. Later, the dog develops a dry cough due to fluid accumulation in the lungs. In more severely affected dogs, there is difficulty in breathing, and finally the dog collapses in shock because the worms in the heart are severely affecting blood flow.

Treatment may be different in different dogs, but medications are derivatives of arsenic and, once the dog is stabilized, the goal is to kill the worms. Even when this is done, the dead parasites will still impede blood flow and interfere with the function of the heart. Death may result.

Cats may also be infected with heart worms, but since the cat is not the preferred host for these parasites, the disease is less common.

It is much easier and better for your pet to prevent the disease. This is easily done in this day and age with several brands of once-monthly medication. The medication is in a pill which the vast majority of dogs will simply eat because it tastes like a treat. Before you begin any medication, your veterinarian will test your animal to be sure he is not already infected. This test must be done by your veterinarian, but it is not a complicated test.

Also helpful is to empty any containers with standing water where mosquitoes may breed.