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'Pets ~ Symptoms of Heartworm ~ Pet Care'

By: Brian Jenkins

"..... A once a month heartworm treatment can prevent your pet from becoming infested with heartworms..........Pets, Pet Care, Cats, Dogs, Dog Care, Dog health, Cat Care, Cat Health, Pet Medicine, Pet Training, Pet Health, Multivitamins for Pets, Pet Meds....."

"..... A once a month heartworm treatment can prevent your pet from becoming infested with heartworms..........Pets, Pet Care, Cats, Dogs, Dog Care, Dog health, Cat Care, Cat Health, Pet Medicine, Pet Training, Pet Health, Multivitamins for Pets, Pet Meds....."
Pets are a fair reinforcement to any household. However, there are costs involved to caring for a pet. When it comes to sicknesses and diseases a pet can befall, heartworm is quite common. Pet owners should ask themselves: is your pet's life quotation $5-7 a month? That's all it costs to protect your pet against heartworms. A once a month heartworm treatment can prevent your pet from becoming infested with heartworms.

Heartworms, one of the most dangerous parasites in domestic animals, are particularly insidious behind the scenes they oftentimes show no signs at all until the infected animal – usually a dog – is heavily infested and severely ill. In fact, according to the American Heartworm Society, most dogs show no physical indications of infection until the disease has progressed to the point where treatment is no longer feasible.

In other words, when signs of heartworm become visible, it is usually too late to treat the dog for the disease. The best way to diagnose heartworms in dogs is through a blood test done by your veterinarian. A blood sample taken by the vet is examined through a microscope for the dispersion of microfilaria – immature heartworms. If microfilaria are present, it stock that your dog has adult heartworms in his heart muscle and must be treated for them. The treatment is a long, involved process, and can be dangerous to your dog, so hindrance is extremely important. To grasp how important routine heartworm preventative is to your dog's soundness – and to the incorruptibility of other dogs in your area – you need to catch what heartworm is, how it spreads and how it affects your dog.

What Heartworm Is

Heartworms are parasitic round worms that live primarily in the heart muscle of dogs, though there is a growing incidence of heartworms being found in other animals including cats, wolves, foxes, skunks and ferrets. They can grow as for a long time as fourteen inches. A single heartworm can in case kill your dog, though infected dogs may have up to 300 adult worms vital inside their hearts. A heartworm can live for up to seven years, and operate millions of microfilaria in its lifetime.

Microfilaria are also uptothemoment a danger to your dog. The microscopic worm larvae live in your pet's bloodstream and expedition through his circulatory system. When they are instant in considerable numbers, they can clog tiny capillaries and impair circulation, causing multiple problems.

The signs of heartworm infestation change with the number of worms, the collocation of worms, the length of time the worms have been existing and the amount of damage done to the heart, lungs, liver and kidneys from the adult worms and the microfilariae.

Adult worms cause damage by clogging the heart and the major blood vessels leading from the heart. Their attendance keeps the heart valves from working properly, and reduces the blood supply to the lungs, liver and kidneys. This leads to a malfunction of these organs, including cirrhosis of the liver.

The most obvious signs of heartworm infection are a chronic soft, dry cough, brevity of breath, low stamina, weakness, listlessness and nervousness. Because heartworms impair circulation and interfere with the delivery of oxygen to the body, these signs are most obvious behind exercise. A dog with advanced heartworm infestation may even faint subsequently or during spirited exercising.

A vet may notice other signs of heartworm infestation on examination. He or she may lend an ear abnormal heart and lung sounds, or blaze congestive heart oversight symptoms. The abdomen and legs may swell from fluid accumulation, and the dog may lose weight or be anemic. Infected dogs may die suddenly during exercise or excitement from congestive heart failure.

How Heartworm Spreads

Heartworm is spread from one infected dog to another by mosquitoes. The cycle starts when a mosquito takes a blood meal from an infected dog. The blood that the mosquito ingests is infested with microfilaria – immature heartworms. That microfilaria will live in the mosquito's digestive system over the next two to three weeks, maturing there. When they are mature, they move from the digestive system to the mouth parts of the mosquito. The next time that the mosquito takes a blood meal, the microfilaria – which are now called infective larvae – are deposited on the skin of the animal. From there, they burrow into the skin until they reach a blood vessel and are carried through the bloodstream to the heart where they settle in to mature into adults. Within two to three months, the larva will be a sexually mature adult, and start producing microfilaria which is released into the bloodstream to start the cycle all over again.

Heartworm Prevention – What dogs should be protected

Because heartworm is spread by mosquitoes, it is most common in states where the mosquito population is high – but it has been reported in all 50 states. In states that have a mosquito problem year round, all dogs should be treated with heartworm preventative each month. In other states, dogs should be tested for heartworm at the start of mosquito flavor and if they are not infected, should be treated with heartworm preventative monthly through mosquito season.

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Article Source: http://www.unique-ezine-articles.com

About Author:

Brian Jenkins is a freelance writer who often writes about topics pertaining to the care of pets and health options for pets such as www.vetrxdirect.com/'>Pet Meds