Heartworms in Dogs

Heartworm in dogs is a very common parasitic disease that is mosquito-borne. It is caused by a roundworm having the scientific name “Dirofilaria immitis” that resides in the heart of canines. Infective larvae travel through the bloodstream and grow into adult worms that reside within the chambers of the heart. It usually results to a heavy mass of worm infestation which, if not treated in its early stages, will result in death. A heartworm symptom in dogs may come up due to heavy infestations, so it is important to know what signs you can expect.

Since worms infest and live in the dog’s heart, the heart has to exert more effort to pump sufficient blood through its chambers. This drastically affects its normal functions. In critical cases, the infestation will extend to the pulmonary artery causing respiration problems in canines.

As a result, shortness of breath, weakness, chronic cough, impaired vision and loss in body weight will ensue. Each heartworm symptom in dogs is consistent with heart and pulmonary artery worm infestations. These are plausible signs leading to heart failure and death from heartworm disease.

So, a change in a dog’s normal activities and behavior will reveal signs of the infection. A heartworm symptom in dogs which are normally active is loss of energy. Also, shortness of breath and coughing typically accompanies this sign. And in critical cases, a dog will cough up blood which is a heartworm symptom in dogs when the pulmonary vessels have been torn.

There are cases when adult worms will migrate and infect the blood vessels in the liver. When this happens, jaundice will result as a heartworm symptom in dogs. And as infestations travel and spread out throughout the system, more symptoms will result that can cause the dog to collapse.

Unfortunately, animals manifest tell-tale signs of heartworm disease when it has developed to when a treatment’s success would be significantly reduced or even useless. And in some cases, a heartworm symptom in dogs won’t be observed for years after infectivity. Fortunately, a blood test will detect the disease within nine months from infection and that’s early enough to successfully administer chemical treatment to cure the disease. That’s why it’s important to protect your dogs from mosquito bites because that’s how infective larvae travel into the bloodstream. And it is also a preventative and early detection measure to have your dog’s blood tested with your veterinarian at least once a year.

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