Let's begin by taking a look at the usual signs and
symptoms of heartworm disease as documented by the American Heartworm Society for canines and felines.
Not exact matches
Heartworm symptoms include coughing, exercise intolerance, increased breathing rate or effort, abdominal distension with fluid, discolored urine
as well
as many other
symptoms, depending on the severity
of the
disease process.
The
symptoms of kennel cough are can also be attributed to several other, more serious illnesses, such
as canine
heartworm disease and cardiac
disease.
As heartworms continue to grow and arrive in the heart and lungs, the
symptoms of the
disease then progress.
Symptoms associated with the first stage
of heartworm disease, when the heartworms are carried to the pulmonary arteries, are often mistaken for feline asthma or allergic bronchitis, when in fact, they are actually due to a syndrome newly defined as Heartworm Associated Respiratory Diseas
heartworm disease, when the heartworms are carried to the pulmonary arteries, are often mistaken for feline asthma or allergic bronchitis, when in fact, they are actually due to a syndrome newly defined as Heartworm Associated Respiratory Disease
disease, when the
heartworms are carried to the pulmonary arteries, are often mistaken for feline asthma or allergic bronchitis, when in fact, they are actually due to a syndrome newly defined
as Heartworm Associated Respiratory Diseas
Heartworm Associated Respiratory
Disease Disease (HARD).
Once mature, the adult
heartworm can reach a length
of 6 - 18 inches.Pets with
heartworm disease can be completely free
of symptoms, or can show one or more signs such
as coughing, weakness, listlessness, labored breathing, or weight loss.
Dogs in the early stages
of heartworm infection may show no
symptoms, but eventually they can exhibit signs such
as tiring easily, loss
of weight, breathing problems, and eventually liver
disease and heart failure.
Cats can suffer from a syndrome referred to
as heartworm - associated respiratory
disease (HARD); the
symptoms can be subtle and may mimic those
of asthma or allergic bronchitis.
Unfortunately, the immature stages
of the parasite cause a reaction known
as Heartworm Associated Respiratory
Disease (H.A.R.D.) which can have severe asthma - like
symptoms that last years or even a lifetime.