These foot - long heartworms cause severe lung disease and inflammation, heart failure, and damage to other organs in the body. (wideopenpets.com)
Not as common but more deadly are heartworms, which are a kind of internal parasite which results in severe lung disease, heart failure, and potentially death. (bethayresveterinary.com)
Interestingly, many that did not have adult heartworms present had signs of severe lung disease. (veterinarypracticenews.com)