Heartworms - A silent killer

Heart worms are about six inches long. They live mostly in the heart and the large blood vessel that brings oxygen-rich blood from the lungs to the heart. Adult male and female worms living in the heart produce thousands of microscopic baby worms which circulate throughout the body. These baby heartworms do not grow to adulthood in the dog where they were born. (If they did, the dog would quickly die and that would be bad for both the dog and the heartworms.) Before baby heartworms can develop further, they must live in a mosquito.

A mosquito comes along and bites the infected dog, sucking up baby heartworms. This probably isn't too good for the mosquito, but this is what the worms have been waiting for. During the next month, the heartworm babies develop into heartworm teenagers, a stage partway between baby and adult.

Now, the mosquito bites another dog, infecting the new dog with teenage heartworms that are ready to become adults. After six or seven more months the life cycle is complete: new adult male and female heartworms are producing thousands of baby heartworms.

Symptoms of heartworm infestation include cough, shortness of breath, fainting after exercise, tiring easily, weight loss and loss of appetite, and listlessness and nervousness. Heartworms can take years off of the life on an otherwise healthy pet. Once infected, the treatment is expensive and sometimes fatal.

All this can be prevented with a simple, inexpensive once a month pill. Talk to your family Vet about heartworms.

For more information visit the American Heartworm Society





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