Dog Care/Heartworms

Heartworm is a parasitic roundworm (Dirofilaria immitis) that is spread from host to host through the bites of mosquitoes. The heartworm affects dogs, cats, wolves, coyotes, foxes, and some other animals, such as ferrets, sea lions, and even humans, but it is unusual for humans to become infected. The parasitic worm is called a "heartworm" because the parasite, in the final reproductive stage of its life cycle, resides in the heart of its host where it can stay for many years, until it kills its host through congestive failure of the heart.

Prevention

Prevention of heartworm infection can be obtained through a number of veterinary drugs. Most popular are ivermectin (sold under the brand name Heartgard), milbmycin (Interceptor) and moxidectin (ProHeart) administered as pills or chewable tablets. These drugs are given monthly during the local mosquito season. Moxidectin is also available in a six-month sustained release injection administered by veterinarians, but the injectable form of Moxidectin was taken off the market in the United States due to safety concerns. Selamectin (Revolution), on the other hand, is a topical preventive that is likewise administered monthly. Some of these drugs also kill other parasites, including intestinal worms. In addition, Selamectin controls fleas, ticks, and mites.

Preventative drugs are highly effective, and when regularly administered will protect more than 99 percent of dogs from infection. Most failures of protection result from irregular and infrequent administration of the drug. However, the monthly preventives all have a reasonable margin for error in their administration such that if a single month's dose is accidentally missed, adequate protection is usually provided so long as the next two monthly doses are administered on schedule.

Monthly heartworm prevention should be administered beginning within a month of the onset of the local mosquito season and continued for a month after the cessation of local mosquito activity. In warm climates, such as the warm temperate climate along the immediate Gulf coast of the United States and in tropical and subtropical regions, heartworm prevention must be administered year round. Some authorities recommend year round administration even in colder climates on the theory that mosquito activity may occur during the occasional unseasonable warm spell, but others argue that computer models indicate heartworm transmission is highly unlikely under such circumstances.

Symptoms of infestation

Dogs show no indication of heartworm infestation during the 6 month long prepatent period prior to the worms' maturation, and current diagnostic tests for the presence of microfilariae or antigens cannot detect prepatent infections. Rarely, migrating heartworm larvae get "lost" and end up in unusual sites such as the eye, brain, or an artery in the leg, which results in unusual symptoms such as blindness, seizures and lameness.

Many dogs will show little or no sign of infection even after the heartworms have matured. To some degree these dogs may be described as seeming to age slightly faster than normal as the worms slowly damage the lungs, kidneys and liver. These animals usually have a light infection and live a fairly sedentary lifestyle. However, active dogs and those with heavier infections will quickly show the classic symptoms of heartworm disease. Early symptoms include a cough, especially on exercise, and early exhaustion upon exercise. More advanced cases progress to severe weight loss, fainting, coughing up blood, and, finally, congestive heart failure.

Testing

Heartworms can be detected by blood test. The filtration test finds microfilariae in the blood; the occult tests (antigen and antibody) are used to detect adult worms. Many veterinarians prefer to do both tests, since the absence of microfilariae in the blood does not necessarily mean that there are no adult worms in the heart. Both tests are done with a single blood draw, preferably in the early spring before daily temperatures warm above 57° F.

X-ray radiographs and, to a lesser extent, ultrasound can also detect the presence of adult heartworms in the heart and lungs. X-rays also can provide a good estimate of the amount of lung damage caused by the presence of heartworms.

Treatment

If either a blood test or the onset of symptoms betray the presence of heartworms, treatment is indicated. Treatment is highly efficacious if the disease is caught early in the disease process. Before the worms can be treated, however, the dog must be evaluated for good heart, liver, and kidney function to ensure the animal can survive the treatment. Any insufficiencies in these organs must be dealt with first, before treatment, as the eradication process can be taxing on organ function. Usually the adult worms are killed with an arsenic-based compound. The currently recommended compound, Melarsomine dihydrochloride, is marketed under the brand name Immiticide. It has a greater efficacy and fewer side effects than previous formulation (Thiacetarsamide sodium, sold as Caparsolate) which makes it a safer alternative for dogs with late-stage infestations.

After treatment, the dog must rest (restricted exercise) for several weeks so as to give its body sufficient time to absorb the dead worms without ill effect. Otherwise, when the dog is under exertion, dead worms may break loose and travel to the lungs, potentially causing respiratory failure and death.

The course of treatment is not completed until several weeks later when the microfilariae are dealt with in a separate course of treatment. Once heartworm tests come back negative, the treatment is considered a success.

Surgical removal of the adult heartworms is also a treatment that may be indicated, especially in advanced cases with substantial heart involvement.

Long term monthly administration of ivermectin (but apparently not moxidectin, milbemycin or selamectin) year round for at least three years at the dose normally used for heartworm prevention also removes most adult heartworms from most dogs. However, this is not the treatment of choice for removal of adult heartworms for two reasons. First, not all dogs are completely cleared of heartworms by this treatment. More importantly, adult heartworms do not begin to die until some 18 months of treatment have elapsed, which is not acceptable under most circumstances. This treatment is normally reserved for dogs that are not likely to tolerate treatment with the harsher, but more effective, melarsomine or instances where the owner cannot afford the more expensive melarsomine treatment.

From time to time various "homeopathic," "natural" or "organic" products are touted as cures or preventives for heartworm disease. However, such products have never been proven effective by rigorous scientific methods, and the claims should be viewed with skepticism.