Heartworm
Heartworm Disease is Prevalent in our Area!
While Northeastern Ohio has many benefits, it is also abundant in mosquitoes. These annoying insects transmit heartworm disease, which puts your dogs and cats at risk of being infected. 7 out of 10 mosquitoes, which may come into contact with your dog, are infected with heartworm disease. Mosquitoes bite our pets and inject heartworm larvae under their skin. These larvae then crawl into your pet's bloodstream and mature over 6 months as they migrate into the heart and lungs (pulmonary arteries). Heartworms can grow to be more than 12 inches in length and can live for up to 7 years inside your pet causing damage, inflammation, and death.
While Northeastern Ohio has many benefits, it is also abundant in mosquitoes. These annoying insects transmit heartworm disease, which puts your dogs and cats at risk of being infected. 7 out of 10 mosquitoes, which may come into contact with your dog, are infected with heartworm disease. Mosquitoes bite our pets and inject heartworm larvae under their skin. These larvae then crawl into your pet's bloodstream and mature over 6 months as they migrate into the heart and lungs (pulmonary arteries). Heartworms can grow to be more than 12 inches in length and can live for up to 7 years inside your pet causing damage, inflammation, and death.
There is no external evidence of this infection in dogs until very late in disease when larvae have grown into adults and have had significant effect on the function of your dogs heart valves and major arteries of the lungs. Once your pet is diagnosed there is only one approved treatment for dogs. The treatment coarse can be costly and take months to complete with follow-up testing needed. Treatment involves injections that can be mildly uncomfortable for your dog and reactions to medication and death are possible but have been much more controlled and prevented with today's current treatment protocol. If your pet is diagnosed with heartworm we will provide the safest and most comfortable mode of treatment offered for your dog. We follow a protocol set up by the American Heartworm Society. You can visit this web page for more information on heartworm in dogs. This webpage also has great information on heartworm disease in cats.
Cats are more resistant to the development of disease after exposure which is fortunate for them. Symptoms of infection in cats is extremely difficult, often impossible to treat, so the disease is much more serious if/when cats develop disease. Most cats present for acute respiratory distress or acute death. There are NO approved treatments to kill adult heartworm in cats. We are here to discuss with you whether heartworm prevention is right for your cat.
The GOOD NEWS is that medications to PREVENT HEARTWORM INFECTION
have a VERY HIGH SAFETY MARGIN for your pet and
PREVENTION IS AFFORDABLE for almost all owners!
The GOOD NEWS is that medications to PREVENT HEARTWORM INFECTION
have a VERY HIGH SAFETY MARGIN for your pet and
PREVENTION IS AFFORDABLE for almost all owners!
Heartworm prevention works by killing larvae that are in your pets system after a mosquito bite, preventing them from maturing into adult worms that cause the symptoms of infection. Prevention can be given in three different ways: topical medications that are absorbed into your pets blood stream (sometimes avoided by dog owners, especially with children but popular with cats), monthly oral medications (typically easily given to your pet as a treat), or for dogs only, an injection given every 6 months. Many medications now contain a combination of flea, tick and heartworm preventatives. At Porter Pet Hospital, we carry and prescribe products that have been shown to work effectively. However, it is important for preventatives to be given at regular monthly intervals to work well. Inconsistency in monthly medication administration is common and one of the biggest reasons we see pets come up positive on heartworm infection testing. It is also one of the main reasons dogs develop resistant infections that are non-responsive to traditional medication.
Revolution
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For cats, Porter Pet Hospital offers Revolution as a heartworm prevention. This is a topical form of medication easy to administer and that rarely has side effects when dosed appropriately for your cat's weight. It is primarily used as a flea preventative and for treatment of intestinal worms (Roundworms and Hookworms), but is also effective as a heartworm preventative and can be an effective treatment for ear mites when dosed accordingly by your veterinarian. See more at tab below.
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For dogs, we offer a number of options. We do this so we can customize the preventative to your dog and your schedule. In our climate, heartworm prevention should be given to dogs year round. Because of the large safety margin for these medications in your pet, the advantages of avoiding resistance and a more infected local mosquito population far outweigh the cost and risks with periodic treatment of your pet.
Heartguard Plus:
Heartguard Plus in an inexpensive once a month oral medication that most dogs love. It treats roundworms, hookworms and prevents heartworm infection. It is a beef flavored chew that is very palatable for your pet. Certain Collie breeds are sensitive to one of the active ingredients in this medication, so if you have a dog we feel is at risk, we would not recommend this for your dog. We do carry alternatives for these situations. All other breeds have a VERY high safety margin and low incidence of side effects with this medication. It has been around for a generation of veterinarians and has proven itself to be a product you can count on. See more information at tab below.
Heartguard Plus:
Heartguard Plus in an inexpensive once a month oral medication that most dogs love. It treats roundworms, hookworms and prevents heartworm infection. It is a beef flavored chew that is very palatable for your pet. Certain Collie breeds are sensitive to one of the active ingredients in this medication, so if you have a dog we feel is at risk, we would not recommend this for your dog. We do carry alternatives for these situations. All other breeds have a VERY high safety margin and low incidence of side effects with this medication. It has been around for a generation of veterinarians and has proven itself to be a product you can count on. See more information at tab below.
**If you have a product that you have used in the past and trust, we can help you with a prescription for that product as well. But, pricing and efficiency with obtaining the preventatives above, as well as the protection for your pet from the companies that produce these products, is more easily obtained from our hospital. We will work with you to get what is best for your pet. Beware of buying online because products are not obtained directly from the company which makes them. Picking up prescriptions from a local pharmacy is typically a safer option.
All pets must have a heartworm test done prior to our office prescribing heartworm preventatives. Our office will test your dog for adult heartworm, as well as microfilaria (larvae) in their blood, when you come in for testing or set up an annual evaluation if a test is due. We follow testing protocols recommended by the American Heartworm Society which recommends annual blood testing and year round prevention. This testing and year round medication is included in our wellness packages.