Heartworm Disease in West Bend

When talking to clients about heartworm testing and prevention we often hear the objection that the owner’s dog just goes out to go “potty” and stays in their yard in West Bend.

Does the Yorkie above look like a heartworm positive dog? We just diagnosed a similar pet as heartworm positive. This West Bend pet was born in Florida but was heartworm negative in April ’09 and had been on preventative since that time.  It is the third heartworm positive dog we have seen during the last six months. Canine heartworm disease is a serious parasitic disease caused by a long, thin worm that lives in the blood vessels and heart of infected dogs. The disease is spread from dog to dog (and to cat) by mosquitoes.

The mosquito bites a dog with heartworm infection, collects some of the microscopic heartworm offspring and then, after a couple of weeks, passes these on to another dog or cat.

Inside the dog, the microscopic heartworm can grow into a parasite exceeding a foot in length. The life cycle is somewhat complicated. The important thing is to prevent worm development using safe and effective preventative drugs.

Heartworms are present in most parts of the United States and in many parts of North America. Mosquitoes are the key – without them the disease cannot spread. The highest rates of infections are found in subtropical climates like those of the southeastern United States, the Gulf states and Hawaii. However, heartworms are also found throughout the central and eastern United States, particularly near oceans, lakes and rivers. Heartworm disease injures the lungs, the arteries of the lungs and the heart. Symptoms include tiring, coughing, weight loss and heart failure. Heartworm infection in dogs is diagnosed by a blood test which also identifies Lyme disease and two other tick borne illnesses.
Prevention
Prevention of heartworm disease is simple. In most cases, a once-monthly prescription tablet is all that is needed to effectively protect your pet. These products include Heartgard Plus® and Iverhart Max ® available at our clinic. These preventatives are only available from your veterinarian, who must first make certain that your dog is not heartworm positive. These "preventatives" kill microscopic larvae that are left behind by mosquitoes when they bite. Before beginning heartworm prevention, any dog born before October 1^st of the previous year should first have a heartworm test. Heartworm blood testing every year is recommended even for dogs taking heartworm preventative year round. Previous recommendations were for every 1 – 3 year testing but this changed with the 2005 American Heartworm Society (AHS) recommendation to yearly testing.

This is due to concern for pets on preventatives that still contracted heartworms. Annual testing will ensure that an infection is caught in plenty of time to effectively manage it.

Recommendations
The AHS recommends that all dogs should take a year-round preventative. Most veterinarians follow these guidelines published by the American Heartworm Society, a group of concerned veterinarians and scientists. The recommended heartworm prevention is a once-monthly pill. Most heartworm preventatives also control intestinal parasites. The wide range of excellent and safe heartworm prescription products can be explained by our veterinarians.
        

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