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Dog Heartworm: An overview
Dog heartworm is a
serious disease that is caused by parasitic worms. Mosquitoes spread
this disease and are an important part of the worm's life cycle.
Therefore, the risk of your dog catching heartworms is partly
dependant on the area you live in.
Heartworm cases have been reported in every U.S. state as well as in
some of the southern provinces of Canada. However, the incidence of
heartworm is much higher in areas that have more mosquitoes. As a
result, your dog is much more likely to catch dog heartworm if you
live in the southern U.S. states where mosquitoes are present
year-round.
The worms that cause the symptoms of heartworm will live in your
dog's heart, lungs, and larger blood vessels and can grow to be 16
inches long. By the time the worms reach this size, they cause
serious health problems for the infested dog. The worms will be long
enough to take up large amounts of space inside of the blood vessels
and heart, and can even partially block the valves of your dog's
heart.
Once you begin to notice the major symptoms of an adult heartworm
infestation, it may already be too late to save your dog - which is
just one more reason why you should bring your dog in for veterinary
check-ups regularly.
In fact, prevention and early treatment are considered essential
when dealing with dog heartworm. You can help prevent heartworm by
using preventative treatments and reducing the contact your dog has
with mosquitoes.
Heartworm grows in your dog at a relatively slow pace, so you should
be able to catch the disease in its early stages. It is recommended
that you have your dog checked once a year for heartworm.
Catching heartworm in infected dogs is also an important part of
heartworm prevention since the mosquitoes need to feed off of an
infected dog in order to continue passing the disease around.
It is rare for heartworm to affect non-canines, but it has been
found in cats. If you suspect that your cat is suffering from
heartworm, then you should bring it to the vet immediately for
x-rays.
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