HEARTWORM (Dogs & Cats)

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Dot
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HEARTWORM (Dogs & Cats)

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Adult heartworm
Heartworms live in the right-hand side of the heart and in the blood vessels going to the lungs. They cause damage to the lining of these blood vessels and cause the formation of small blood clots in the blood vessels deeper in the lungs. They can also cause inflammation in the delicate lung tissue around the airways in the lungs. In the early stages, there may be no obvious clinical signs. With time, the damage worsens. Signs include:

coughing
decreased fitness
weight loss.
In severe cases the heart, the liver and kidney will start to lose functional capacity, causing serious health problems.

Microfilaria
Microfilaria are immature or ‘baby’ heartworms which are produced by the adult worms in the heart. They live in the bloodstream and can be transferred from animal to animal through mosquito bites.

CT scanner
A thorough health assessment
Proper diagnosis is essential to determine if your pet’s health is good enough to have the treatment. This may involve a urine test, blood test, and chest X-rays.

The basic treatment schedule
Heartworm has three treatment phases.

The first phase – The pre-treatment phase – may not be required in all cases. This involves using medication at home to try and reduce some of the effects of heartworm infection such as blood clot formation and roughening of the blood vessel lining. Can involve two to three weeks of oral medication.
The second phase – Adulticide treatment – involves the injection of a drug to kill the adult heartworm.
Immiticide is the only drug currently available for heartworm therapy. It is administered by two injections 24hrs apart, or in some cases, treatment may be split.

The split treatment is where a single initial injection is given. After one month of rest at home, your dog returns to have the full two-injection course.
The third phase – Microfilarial treatment – involves a day stay in the hospital to kill the baby heartworm.
A post adulticide checkup is recommended one week after the administration of the adulticide drug. Two weeks after this, a final blood test is performed. If this test is negative, treatment is finished and heartworm prevention is commenced.

Potential complications of treatment
There are a number of concerns with regard to treatment.

Once a drug has been administered to kill adult heartworm, these worms die over the next 5-14 days and are carried in the blood flow into the lungs. Each of the worms will block one of the many small blood vessels deep in the lungs. Because there are so many of the small blood vessels, blockage of a few may not cause outward signs of illness.

However, if a significant number of worms dislodge together and blockade more major blood vessels, then this may damage a large portion of the lung and can pose a serious problem. This event is called a thromboembolism. The better your pet is kept confined and rested, the lower the risk of thromboembolism.

In severe cases, there is a risk of permanent damage to the heart and lungs requiring on-going medication. It is usually possible before treatment to predict which dogs may be left with residual damage.

Immiticide has no liver or kidney toxicity. It is very effective against heartworm and will kill virtually 100% of the worms. It can be used as:
a) standard treatment – two injections 24hrs apart
b) split dose treatment – for dogs that are severely affected with heartworm or in an attempt to reduce the risk of thromboembolism

In the split dose regime, the first injection kills 30 – 40% of the worms and the remainder are killed when the two follow up injections are given. This enables your dog’s body to cope with the dead worm load more gradually and thus reduces the risk of lung damage.

Heartworm is a serious and often fatal condition. Prevention of heartworm is the best course of action.

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Heartworm disease is responsible for infecting thousands of dogs and cats every year. This disease is potentially fatal yet completely preventable. Heartworm affects both dogs and cats, however, dogs do have an increased risk of developing this disease, especially those that live outdoors.

What causes heartworm disease?
Heartworm disease is caused by a blood parasite that is spread by mosquitoes. These heartworms migrate through the tissue until they enter the vascular system. Once infected, these nasty parasites reside and live on the right side of the lungs and pulmonary arteries where they obstruct the flow of blood to the heart affecting the rest of the body. By the time heartworms reach the lungs, they are mature and can grow to be as long as 14 inches. Hundreds could be living at one time.

Signs of heartworm disease in dogs
coughing
unwilling to exercise
shortness of breath
weight loss
fever
abdominal swelling
death
Signs of heartworm disease in cats
vomiting
lethargy
breathing difficulty
weight loss convulsions
death
How is heartworm disease diagnosed?
Diagnosis of heartworm disease in dogs and cats is commonly done by a blood test. X-rays and ultrasounds may need to be performed.

How is heartworm disease treated?
The treatment for heartworm depends on the seriousness of the disease. Many dogs need to be treated for the heart and lung disease prior to the heartworm treatment itself. To kill the heartworm, a series of injections are required. The side effects can last for up to two months. After the adult worms are killed, additional drugs are used to kill the microfilaria. The patient may need to be hospitalised.

Prevention
Prevention is always better than cure, especially when it comes to heartworm disease. Heartworm is readily prevented through year-round heartworm preventative medications. Heartworm prevention for dogs and cats should be started from six to eight weeks of age and continued for the rest of their life. There are a variety of products available like

tablets,
chews
syrups
top spots
injections
Your veterinarian will be able to advise you on the most suitable product for your pet. Discuss heartworm treatment or prevention with your local Vet
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User avatar
Dot
Posts: 23479
Joined: Fri Nov 23, 2012 6:12 pm
Location: Strathalbyn SA

Re: HEARTWORM (Dogs & Cats)

Post by Dot »

HEARTWORM AND HUMANS

Heartworms don’t live long in human blood, so you won’t need to have heartworms removed through either medication or surgery. Treatment for heartworms addresses any granulomas that appear on an imaging test that may have resulted from dead heartworm tissue buildup in your arteries.

If a granuloma isn’t causing any symptoms or blockage in your arteries, you probably won’t need any further treatment.

If your doctor suspects that a granuloma may be cancerous or the result of another, more serious condition, they’ll likely take a tissue sample (biopsy).

To take a tissue sample, your doctor may use one of these methods:

Lung needle biopsy. Your doctor inserts a thin needle through your chest tissues in your lungs.
Bronchoscopy. Your doctor inserts a lighted scope through your mouth into your lungs.
Mediastinoscopy. Your doctor inserts a lighted scope through a small cut in your skin into the mediastinum, an area between the lungs.
If your doctor finds that a granuloma isn’t cancerous or a result of another condition, you may not need any further treatment.

If your doctor believes that granulomas need to be removed, you may need surgery to remove the granuloma. This will prevent any further symptoms.

If the granuloma is found to have cancerous tissue, your doctor will likely refer you to an oncologist to further examine your bodily tissues for the presence of cancer.

The takeaway
You can’t get heartworms from your dogs, cats, or other pets — only from mosquitos that carry the infection.

Most heartworm microfilariae die on their way through the skin. Even if they do get into your blood somehow, heartworms can’t mature and will eventually die off.

In most cases, heartworms in humans aren’t a serious problem unless they cause pain, discomfort, and other noticeable symptoms.

Special note for pet owners
Heartworms are serious business for dogs; without treatment, your dog can experience severe symptoms and even die from an infection.
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