Heartgard

Heartworm in dogs is a very serious disease. It can be fatal when the condition is not given with immediate treatment. Treatment involved with heartworm disease is tasking, difficult and costly. The most efficient way to prevent the disease is through preventive therapy. Once preventive therapy fails or was given too late and your pet dog already has contracted the disease in their system, it is empirical to administer immediate treatment while the condition is still on the early stage.

Dog heartworm symptoms can be difficult to identify however on the early stage of the disease. It usually takes about 4 months for the parasite to grow into mature worms and cause a lot of damage. Within this period of time, dog heartworm symptoms are not manifested by the infected dog.

Heartworms inhabit the pulmonary artery, heart and the lungs. The worms initially reside in the pulmonary artery but as the number of worms increase, they may spill from the pulmonary artery into the heart. Dog heartworm symptoms may manifest due to affectation of these vital organs. Obstruction of blood flow from the heart into the lungs can cause irritation to the lungs. As more pressure build up happens in the heart in an effort to pump the blood out into the lungs, blood pressure increases causing the lungs to inflate and accommodate the blood plasma leaked from the heart due to greater pressure exerted. Fluid accumulation takes place in the lungs and the initial dog heartworm symptom appears in the form of a mild cough. The dog may begin to exhibit exercise intolerance and occasionally becomes lethargic.

With the extra effort of the heart to pump blood, the heart wall lining thickens that decreases the heart chamber volume to decrease because of the thickened walls. Less blood is moved in the heart. The dog heartworm symptoms are now worsening from the initial mild cough to chronic cough. More dog heartworm symptoms develop such as respiratory distress, difficulty of breathing and collapse after simple to strenuous exercise. Another deleterious dog heartworm symptom is appetite loss with resulting great weight loss. The dog may exhibit a pot-bellied look of the abdomen that could mask the signs of severe weight loss. The dog heartworm symptoms progress into signs of a heart failure.

The dog heartworm symptoms affecting the liver include sudden weakness, anorexia, rapid breathing and body collapse. These are all signs of shock. Clot formed in the lungs causes severe obstruction from the lungs and will exhibit severe symptoms of hemoptysis or coughing of blood. Once the clot forms into an embolus and dislodged into other organs as kidneys, heart and brain will produce an organ failure. This eventually lead to a fatal death.

Keen observation of dog heartworm symptoms is the key factor in preventing further progression of the disease so that immediate treatment is prescribed. Keeping a close watch on these dog heartworm symptoms can make a big difference in saving your pet dog’s health and life.

Tags: Heart Worms, K9, Pet Medicine, Pets, Feline