What, you say, is a Heartworm? They are exactly what the name implies--a worm that lives in the heart of your dog! Really gross sounding isn't it? Well, if you think it sounds bad, you should actually see one! I saw one recently displayed in the Vet's office connected to our local Petsmart. They had the heart of a dog, who had died of heartworms, in a jar along with the worms! It made me sick, but I will never forget to give my dogs their heartworm preventive!!
Now, let me be a little more scientific in explaining these "killers" to you. Heartworms are parasites that live in the hearts of canines; they are located in the right ventricle of the heart. These worms are transmitted by a mosquito bite. An infected dog gets bitten by a mosquito, and then that mosquito bites a non-infected dog, and thus the disease is transmitted. The mosquito picks up the "baby heartworms" called microfilaria from the blood stream of an affected dog. This microfilaria travels into the salivary glands of the mosquito, and then are injected back into another dog. Adult female worms produce hundreds of microfilaria. Once inside the dog, they begin their trip to the heart, taking up to 6 months to move into place and grow into adult heartworms. Adult heartworms look a lot like spaghetti and can grow any where from 5 inches to 14 inches in length.
Heartworms can gradually destroy your dog's heart. Having a bunch of spaghetti-size worms in the heart greatly affects its ability to pump blood. Once the heart muscle weakens from the added strain, the conditions are suitable for Congestive Heart Failure--and eventually death. If the dog doesn't die of heart failure, the added stress placed upon other vital organs from lack of proper blood flow can also cause fatal conditions.
Since heartworm is a debilitating disease and the effects are slow to appear, many dog owners do not recognize that their dog is unwell until the disease is well into the later stages. During these late stages, the dog may have a chronic cough, labored breathing, listlessness, fatigue, and loss of stamina. Unfortunately, it is often to late to treat the dog once the disease has progressed this far.
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