Life After a Dog Has Heartworm

Infection

• Heartworm infections are spread via mosquito bites. A dormant form of heartworm larvae is transmitted from one dog to the next by mosquitoes. When the larva enter the dog's body, they begin to circulate through the small blood vessels. As they grow, they move to the heart, where they can cause serious problems, including damage to the muscle and blockage of major arteries. Adult heartworms living within a dog's body produce larvae that migrate to the small blood vessels near the skin, to be picked up by mosquitoes again.
  
  

Treatment

• A dog that has heartworms will need treatment with an anti-parasitic drug. Traditional heartworm treatments contained arsenic and caused significant side effects, such as extreme pain from the injections and toxic effects or reactions to the arsenic. Newer drugs produce fewer side effects, allowing more successful treatment and fewer fatalities. In some very advanced cases, a vet may forgo treating the heartworms and may simply treat the organ damage they cause.
  
  

Time Frame

• The heartworm treatment is fast acting. Heartworms die within a few days of treatment, but cannot be removed from a dog's body. They decompose and are eventually carried to the lungs, where the body reabsorbs them. This can take up to two months and is a dangerous period for many dogs, since pieces of heartworm can block major arteries, causing an embolism. Your pet may have a cough for seven or eight weeks after treatment, due to heartworm reabsorption.
  
  

Considerations

• Dogs with serious heartworm infestations may have permanent organ damage that prevents them from resuming all their old activities. In some cases, your pet may need lifetime treatment for a failing heart, including a special diet, diuretic drugs and heart medication. Most dogs with less severe infections regain their energy and appetite and are able to engage in most physical activity again. Owners should make sure they don't allow the dog to exercise for the first month after treatment, though--decomposing heartworms could cause fatal side effects.
  
  

Prevention/Solution

• If your dog has been treated for heartworm, it's still susceptible to infection. All dogs in areas where mosquito bites are likely need to be on a prevention program. Your veterinarian can provide heartworm medication in the form of daily or monthly tablets, or in the form of an injection administered every six months. Owners should begin a preventive treatment immediately after a dog has finished recovering from heartworm.