Heartworm disease is a potentially life-threatening disease in dogs and cats. It has been diagnosed in all 50 states and is regionally endemic to this area. Fortunately, heartworm disease can be prevented by giving a once-a-month heartworm preventative.

Transmission

Heartworms are transmitted by mosquitoes. Mosquitoes pass heartworms to your pet while taking a blood meal. Once transmitted, the immature heartworms, called microfilaria, migrate through the body. The microfilaria go through multiple maturing stages to ultimately become adults. This process takes several weeks. Once mature, the adult heartworms reside in the heart and lungs of infected animals and cause damage to the surrounding tissues.

Signs of Infection

Common signs of infection include coughing, weakness, labored breathing, and exercise intolerance. Most animals infected with heartworms may not show any clinical signs of infection until the latter stages of the disease. In cats, sudden death may be the only sign of heartworm infestation.

Prevention

Prevention is truly the best medicine when dealing with heartworms. There are many preventatives available. Here at Westmoreland and Slappey Animal Hospital we offer Heartgard, Interceptor, Trifexis and Sentinel, oral preventatives given once a month. We also carry Revolution a topical product applied to the skin once monthly. Our newest weapon in the fight against heartworm disease in dogs is Proheart 6. This is an injectable product that prevents heartworm disease for 6 months.

But my pet does not go outside…

Unfortunately, inside animals are not immune from heartworm exposure. Although your inside pets may be less likely to be infected with heartworms, there is still the possibility of transmission during bathroom visits or by pesky mosquitoes that enter your home. It may only take one mosquito bite to infect your pet. We highly recommend yearly heartworm prevention whether your pet is kept inside or out.

Diagnosis

Heartworm disease can be easily diagnosed using a simple blood test. Only a few drops of blood are needed to run the test. The test takes no more than 10 minutes to run and results can be given within the time of a regular wellness visit. If your pet is older than 6 months of age and has not been on heartworm preventative we highly recommend that they be tested.