What are heartworms and how are they treated?
Heartworms are just what they sound like. They are worms that invade the heart muscle. They are transmitted by mosquitos. Untreated heartworms will eventually kill a dog because they completely fill up the heart and the heart is no longer able to pump blood. But, if successfully treated, the dog has a very good prognosis and there is little risk of long term damage. The life cycle of a heartworm is quite long. It takes a long time for the worms to fully develop. And, because the heartworm test is actually a test for a certain substance that a mature heartworm puts off, dogs cannot even be diagnosed for heartworm until they are over a year old. This condition has only been recognized for about 15 years. At first, the only treatment was arsenic and the treatment was almost as deadly as the disease itself. Now, they have refined the treatment and so successful recovery is achieved in most dogs. Today, the biggest danger to a dog is that they will develop a clot of dead worms that will cau
