My dog has Heartworms. Please Help?

Question

My dog was just diagnosed with heartworms, he will begin treatment in less than a week. What can i expect? What are his odds of survival? Im REALLY worried, has anyone else ever had to go through this, what was the outcome?

Answer 1

Treatment

If either a blood test or the onset of symptoms betray the presence of heartworms, treatment is indicated. Treatment is highly efficacious if the disease is diagnosed early in the disease process. Before the worms can be treated, however, the dog must be evaluated for good heart, liver, and kidney function to ensure the animal can survive the treatment. Any insufficiencies in these organs must be dealt with first, before treatment, as the eradication process can be taxing on organ function. Usually the adult worms are killed with an arsenic-based compound. The currently recommended compound, Melarsomine dihydrochloride, is marketed under the brand name Immiticide. It has a greater efficacy and fewer side effects than previous formulation (Thiacetarsamide sodium, sold as Caparsolate) which makes it a safer alternative for dogs with late-stage infestations.

After treatment, the dog must rest (restricted exercise) for several weeks so as to give its body sufficient time to absorb the dead worms without ill effect. Otherwise, when the dog is under exertion, dead worms may break loose and travel to the lungs, potentially causing respiratory failure and death. According to the American Heartworm Society, use of aspirin in dogs infected with heartworms is no longer recommended due to a lack of evidence of clinical benefit, and may be contraindicated. It had previously been recommended for its effects on platelet adhesion and reduction of vascular damage caused by the heartworms.

The course of treatment is not completed until several weeks later when the microfilariae are dealt with in a separate course of treatment. Once heartworm tests come back negative, the treatment is considered a success.

Surgical removal of the adult heartworms is also a treatment that may be indicated, especially in advanced cases with substantial heart involvement.

Long term monthly administration of ivermectin (but apparently not moxidectin, milbemycin or selamectin) year round for at least three years at the dose normally used for heartworm prevention (see "Prevention") also removes most adult heartworms from most dogs. However, this is not the treatment of choice for removal of adult heartworms for two reasons. First, not all dogs are completely cleared of heartworms by this treatment. More importantly, adult heartworms do not begin to die until some 18 months of treatment have elapsed, which is not acceptable under most circumstances. This treatment is normally reserved for dogs that are not likely to tolerate treatment with the harsher, but more effective, melarsomine or instances where the owner cannot afford the more expensive melarsomine treatment.

From time to time various "homeopathic," "natural" or "organic" products are touted as cures or preventives for heartworm disease. However, such products have never been proven effective by rigorous scientific methods, and the claims should be viewed with skepticism.

Answer 2

Don't worry too much. Your veterinarian will be able to answer all your questions when you bring him in for treatment. Just write down the questions you have, and your concerns so you don't forget them when you talk to your vet. Heartworm treatment can be dangerous, but if you do everything your vet says, he should be absolutely fine. And also, DON'T put him on heartworm prevention while he is still positive. Heartworm prevention can kill the adult worms too quickly and cause blockages in his veins and arteries. It is very dangerous to do that. BUT when he is done with treamtent, and test negative for heartworms, you should keep him on heartworm prevention year-round so he does not become infected again. I hope this helps, good luck, your doggie should be fine, and he will be a normal healthy dog when he is done with the treatment.

Answer 3

it depends on how bad the heartworms are. if the dr is willing to treat the dog he must think there is a chance.. he will have to be kept real quiet and only walk on a leash till the treatment is over but your vet will give you all the instruction's you will need. i have worked for 2 vet and both have treated heartworm and both dogs lived. so there is hope. just do everything the vet tells you to do. dog do die from heartworms if they are not treated. the worms fill up the heart. Good luck

Answer 4

It's a couple of months of medication and then at least a year of monitoring to make sure all the worms and larvae are gone. If your dog is strong and doctors have already recommended treatment, then they would be the best ones to tell you what to expect. The article below give a very good explanation. It says only the most severe cases are not treatable. Best wishes to your dog.

Answer 5

Your vet will go over your dogs treatment. However, if your dog wasn't in otherwise good health and of younger age, a vet wouldn't even consider treating the dog.
Your dog unfortunately will suffer discomfort in treatment and I believe, treatment after infection is not guaranteed.
Hence, it's giving the dog the preventative meds to keep them from getting infected. Especially in areas with mosquitoes, and climates with year-round pest problems treat year round.
Heartworms are very bad.
This website covers all your questions.
http://www.heartwormsociety.org/CanineHeartwormInfo.htm
Good luck.

Answer 6

The last dog I had died from HW treatment last March 29th. He also BARELY had them, and was only 2 1/2 yrs old. He should have lived easily, but I guess the odds were against him. =( When we called the vets office TWICE in a week saying he was breathing too hard, the receptionist just said it was "normal". So, for the love of God, if your dog starts breathing way too heavily, take him back to the vet! My vet and the receptionist there were ignorant, and so my dog died from suffocation only 2 weeks into treatment, all b/c the rec. said it was "normal" for him to breath that heavily. Keep your dog in a crate, too. You ABSOLUTELY have to crate him, otherwise, he might die from not staying calm. Your dog /has/ to stay calm. Good luck to you and your dog. I really hope he makes it...

Answer 7

My dog was treated for heartworms last year. He recieved 3 injection-treatments of Immiticide, over three weeks. It is a very powerful drug. During this period, he was to remain generally calm, and with little to no activity for one month. This is crucial, because as Immiticide kills the heartworms, the worms can bite chunks out of the dog's heart as they're dying. If the dog is overly active during his treatement period, it can cause the worms to fall off the heart -- taking tiny chunks with them, and obviously the dog can die of heart failure. If they treat your dog with Immiticide, I suggest that you have a crate at home for him during his treatement period where he can stay put with little activity, other than going to the bathroom.

Answer 8

my friends who adopted this dog had a real bad case of heartworms but they got the dog shots and this dog is doing good today so don't give up.

Answer 9

well i know not much you can do about it now but if you ever had asked youre vet doctor about trying to gave youre dog some medicans to take care of the heart worms . if they couldnt do anything about it then will take time for youre dog to get better . well dont worrying so much cause its not worth it so i just let it go and maybe you can get yourself a new healthy dog just like youre sick dog . most vet will have the owneres pets have a furnnal plans done .

Answer 10

calm down, dogs rarely ever die from heartworms...my dog has heartworms, all you have to do is keep your dog active, and give it prevention pills. it will kill all baby heartworms, and slow down the big ones. or you can go through treatment and spend all your money.