Preventing Heartworm Disease

“Heartworm disease is a serious and potentially fatal condition caused by parasitic worms living in the arteries of the lungs and occasionally in the right side of the heart of dogs, cats and other species of mammals, including wolves, foxes, ferrets, sea lions and (in rare instances) humans.” 

You can find much more information about heartworms on the American Heartworm Society website:

www.heartwormsociety.org

Countryside Animal Hospital recommends a yearly heartworm screening at your pet’s annual exam and purchasing the heartworm medication our doctors recommend directly from us.  Our heartworm prevention medication vendors such as Novartis will only guarantee their product if a client is purchasing the product from us, AND if we are doing a yearly heartworm test.  In a sense, you lose your insurance policy without the yearly exam and when they buy product on-line.

Most heartworm prevention is about 98% effective. For this reason, pets taking heartworm prevention monthly could still develop heartworm disease.  The risk of infection in dogs varies from one region to another and we are seeing an increase in resistance to conventional heartworm preventatives in our area.  Dogs can be heartworm positive, yet remain asymptomatic for months or even years.  Early detection and treatment of HW positive dogs is the best way to reduce the risk of developing serious complications related to this disease.

Once your dog develops heartworm, treatment is extremely costly compared to remaining compliant with the recommended medication.  Below are some resources to learn more about this deadly and treatable disease:

·  Novartis Animal Health
This site is sponsored by Novartis, the makers of Sentinel, Interceptor and Program, and has useful information on heartworm prevention and flea control for pet owners.