The male heartworm in a dog can be between four and six inches in length, whereas the female heartworm can be between ten and twelve inches in length, and is considered to be fully grown after about one year of infection. They can live for about five to seven years in dogs and can become quite serious if left untreated. The amount of worms that can infect a dog is extremely high, averaging up to about 250 worms.

How severely the dog becomes infected with heartworm depends largely on how many adult heartworms are present, how old the infection is, as well as the level of activity of the dog. Dogs with more worms tend to have more severe heart and lung problems because once the number of mature heartworms exceed 50 in a dog of around 50 pounds, they move up into the right chambers of the heart.

When a dog first contracts heartworm, there are rarely any signs or symptoms. However, as the condition worsens, it can lead to dysfunction of the lungs, heart, kidney, and liver. When a dog has what is considered to be a mild form of this disease they may have just a cough which may be contributed to other diseases. As it gets worse, they continue to cough but are also unable to exercise as much, and they may have abnormal lung sounds. When heartworm in dogs is severe the following can occur along with the symptoms of the disease:

• Difficulty breathing
• Enlargement of the liver
• Temporary loss of consciousness due to poor blood flow to the brain
• Fluid accumulation in the abdomen
• Abnormal heart sounds
• Death

Diagnosis and Treatment for Heartworm in Dogs

The diagnosis starts with a typical checkup by the veterinarian. They may do blood testing if there seems to be a history of coughing or if any of the symptoms mentioned above exist. From there they may take an x-ray, an angiography, do an ultrasound, or a microfilarial detection. In the blood test in particular they look for the antibodies and antigens in the blood serum. Antigen tests will show the antigens that are primarily found in adult female heartworms, and this is currently the best test to show if a dog is infected with heartworm.

If a dog is found positive for heartworm, you can successfully treat them. The goal is to kill all of the adult worms with a minimum of harmful effects from the drugs and to avoid any complications from the dying heartworms. When dogs have a mild to moderate form of heartworm, it is almost always successfully treated, but with severe heartworm disease, the possibility of complications can be quite harmful to the dogs.

Currently there is only one drug which is approved for elimination of adult heartworms. It is an organic arsenical compound that can kill off the adult heartworms. The dog will most often be hospitalized during the administration of the medicine.

The best way to avoid heartworm in your dog is to treat them with preventative medicine. This includes monthly tablets, chewable medicine, as well as topical ointments. When administered correctly, they are extremely effective with only a small amount of dogs contracting heartworm if on regular medication. Prevention should be done year round to protect both your dog, as well as yourself, as heartworm can be transmitted to humans.

Medstore International lists a generic version of Heartgard-Plus (Ivermectin/Pyrantel Pamoate) for heartworm in dogs.

To view strength, pack size, pricing information and to buy click on the product link below;

Heartgard Plus

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