"Heartworm infestation" refers to a medical condition where worms enter and live in a dog's or cat's heart and nearby blood vessels. It can cause serious harm to the animal's health if not treated.
Full definition
Depending on the severity and class of
heartworm infestation in your canine the treatments can vary from specific medications designed to kill the worms, to hospitalization to remove the worms.
If your cat is diagnosed
with heartworm infestation but is not showing severe signs, your vet will probably want to monitor the condition with regular chest X-rays.
Or parasite - control products that didn't kill the parasites as claimed —
allowing heartworm infestation, for example — or vaccines that weren't protective.
Treatment
for heartworm infestation is dangerous and since most cases are not caught until dogs exhibit symptoms due to organ damage, treatment can often be fatal.
On December 1, 2009, Merial published an open letter to veterinarians, announcing a shortage of Immiticide (melarsomine dihydrochloride), the only drug licensed for use in
treating heartworm infestations in dogs.
Treatment for an
actual heartworm infestation (as opposed to preventative treatment) consists of some very strong drugs and complete rest so that the worms can be killed and absorbed into the body safely without causing circulation / heart / embolism / blood clots and other serious problems.
Heartworm medicines can cause adverse reaction, and can even result in death, but a full -
on heartworm infestation is fatal if left untreated so treatment is not optional.
We asked Sheldon Rubin, 2007 - 2010 president of the American Heartworm Society, to separate facts from the myths
about heartworm infestations in dogs.
In some cases
where heartworm infestations are severe and dogs are too disabled from their condition, veterinarians may suggest forgoing treatment and opting for euthanization.
The
sooner heartworm infestations are caught, the better the chance that a dog will survive treatment because there will be less damage to major organs.
Dakota was found by representatives of the Greater Houston Golden Retriever Rescue Group, chained to a stake and near death
from heartworm infestation and neglect.
Heartworm infestation is a serious disease that affects bulldogs and other dog breeds.
Diagnosis of
a heartworm infestation in canines is usually made by microscopic examination or by a blood test.
As a result of
his heartworm infestation and pulmonary hypertension, he was also in right sided congestive heart failure.
The treatment of
a heartworm infestation takes several months, on average about three, but full recovery can take up to six months, depending on how severe the infestation was.
A heartworm infestation doesn't show any symptoms until it has reached a critical stage and the worms are causing damage to the heart.
Heartworm infestation is dangerous; untreated dogs die and treated dogs go through weeks of discomfort while the worms are killed and expelled from their bodies.
The first sign of
heartworm infestation may not manifest for a year after infection, and even then the soft cough that increases with exercise may be dismissed as unimportant by the owner.
The fact is; most dogs infected with heartworms have absolutely no symptoms for several years until they develop heart and lung damage from
the heartworm infestation.
Again,
heartworm infestation is not very common in cats, but once your veterinarian suspects the problem, he or she might order blood tests, chest X-rays, ultrasound imaging and a test to check whether the cat's blood contains certain antibodies to heartworms.
Decisions must be tailored to the individual dog, taking into account both the extent of
the heartworm infestation, and the dog's overall age, activity level, and health.
Generally, the symptoms of
a heartworm infestation in a cat will manifest differently than would be the case with a dog, and the nebulous nature of this difference makes a diagnosis in cats particularly difficult.
We highly recommend it for dogs with significant risk factors: a «snub - nose» anatomy (snub - nose breeds are very susceptible to respiratory infections, have a higher mortality rate, and have a harder time clearing the disease), heart and / or pulmonary disease (such as dogs with congestive heart failure, a history of
heartworm infestation, etc), suppressed immune systems (such as after chemo therapy), and competition dogs (show dogs, performance dogs, search & rescue dogs, etc).
So many dogs die here due to
heartworm infestation.
In simple words, Interceptor is a drug that is especially formulated for the prevention of
heartworm infestations and the treatment of intestinal worms in dogs.
It is an antiparasitic medication that is formulated and developed primarily for the prevention and management of fleas and
heartworm infestations.
Treatment begins with the evaluation of the dog's health and the severity of
the heartworm infestation.
Because we diagnose CB on the basis of a daily cough, we need to be sure that other causes of chronic cough such as heart failure,
heartworm infestation, pneumonia, lung tumor, etc., have been ruled out.
Heartworm infestation can happen to any dog, but since mosquitoes are their carriers, dogs who live in hot, humid regions are at greatest risk.
A heartworm infestation can progress to heart failure and death.
The effects of
heartworm infestation are not often noticed immediately and, as a result, once a dog is diagnosed an individual dog may be harboring hundreds of heartworms, notes WebMD.
Initially, an evaluation is conducted to determine the status of the dog's health and the seriousness of
the heartworm infestation.
The owner was diligently giving the pet monthly medication to prevent
heartworm infestation, and was astonished when the pet tested positive for heartworm during a routine exam.
Heartworm infestation is another thing altogether; by the time the infected dog coughs, he is already severely infected with this serious and often fatal disease.
Heartworm infestation is often fatal and symptoms may not show for years.
Once
a heartworm infestation occurs, it will become life threatening.