Pet owners who ignore the veterinarian’s advice to administer heartworm medicine to their dog may think it is something they can add later. Heartworm disease is easily prevented by pet meds such as Heartgard. This beefy wafer is a monthly treat your dog will enjoy, is inexpensive and can save the life of your best friend and eliminate any need for expensive and painful treatment for heartworm disease.
The worms do not only affect your dog’s heart but can lodge in the lungs, kidneys and liver and damage those vital organs. The long thread-like worms are spread by mosquitoes when they bite your pet and grow to maturity inside your dog’s body. Within two weeks of being infected, your dog’s blood can be drawn by mosquitoes and used to infect other animals.
Heartworms cannot mature unless they pass through a mosquito. Fifty states report canines diagnosed with heartworm disease though the problem is most commonly found in states where climates are hot and humid. This is not surprising as these locales are mosquito breeding grounds.
Several mosquitoes can infect your dog with heartworm in bite after bite. Adult heartworms migrating to your pet’s heart can live there for 5-7 years. Until the heartworms mature, your dog may test negative for the disease.
The heart clogged the parasites must pump harder to keep blood flowing. Pulmonary hypertension results when the right side of the heart has to work harder to push blood to the lungs. A strong heart can pump the blood harder but in time the heart muscle will begin to thicken and become weak. Arrhythmia leading to the dog’s death may be the end result.
Fluids build up in the abdomen and in the chest causing the dog to have difficult breathing and is belly may be distended. Heartworms may also cause an immune response and the antibodies that build up as a result cause pain and inflammation in eyes and joints.
A dog with a high number of heartworms may not display symptoms of the disease until it is well advanced and life threatening. The right side of the heart can become clogged with adult heartworms that expand into the veins feeding blood to the heart. This is Caval Syndrome which arises suddenly when the dog collapses nd goes into shock. Emergency treatment is surgery to attempt to remove as many heartworms from the heart as possible with a clamp inserted into the jugular vein. The animal may survive with surgery but without fast treatment the dog will die within 48 hours of onset of symptoms.
Heartworm disease can be prevented by following your veterinarian’s recommendation for preventive heartworm medicine for dogs. Sentinel and Heartgard are tasty and accepted by dogs as a treat once a month. Revolution is topical spot on treatment that prevents heartworms as well as fleas. These pet meds are by prescription only but can be purchased at reputable online pet sites at reasonable prices. Your dog can be protected from heartworm disease for as little as $10 a month.
Preventive heartworm medicine for dogs guarantees your dog will never have to undergo heartworm treatment that leaves him weakened for weeks. Buy the most effective heartworm prevention meds at http://www.petscriptsdirect.com .









