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How will heartworms affect my dog?
Heartworm infection can affect many different organs of the dog—heart, lungs, kidneys, and liver, for example—so symptoms may be nonspecific. A veterinarian may suspect that an animal has been infected if an active animal tires easily or shows shortness of breath or coughing; however, one or more tests conducted by your veterinarian may be necessary to determine whether or not your dog has heartworms.

The heartworm larvae deposited by the feeding mosquito eventually migrate to the chambers of the heart or into the vessels of the lungs. Once in the heart, the worms can affect blood flow throughout the body.

How do I prevent my dog from getting heartworms?
Heartworms have been found in dogs in all 50 states so all dogs are at risk, even those animals that primarily live indoors. However, heartworms are preventable.

Ask your veterinarian about heartworm prevention. Preventive treatment should begin at 6 or 8 weeks of age in puppies and after tests have been conducted in older dogs to determine if your dog has already been infected. If your dog does have heartworms, your veterinarian can advise you about treatment options.

Can humans contract the disease?
Isolated cases of human infection have been reported, however, the heartworm is generally not considered a risk to human health.

© 2006 Companion Animal Parasite Council

Heartworms