Friday, March 23, 2012

Heartworm Concerns Rise With Warm Weather Approaching

Ahhh…who doesn’t love the summer? The golden sunshine, the beach, pool and vacations! There’s not too much to worry about in the summer. However, when it comes to your pets, you should be concerned about them getting heartworm disease, which could cause major problems.

Mosquitoes are a significant health risk to our pets, as they can carry the potentially deadly parasitic disease. When mosquitoes take a blood meal from an animal that is infected with heartworms, they can pass that on to your pets. Once your pet is injected, it takes about six months to them to mature into adult heartworms. They live within blood vessels of the lungs and could cause breathing problems.

If you sense that your dog is having difficulty breathing or seems to be losing weight, take them to your nearest Bregman Vet Group Location. A simple blood test could detect if they have this disease. 

Medicine can treat heartworm disease. Although they are expensive, they can also be very hard on your dog. Some dogs need to be resting in a cage for weeks during the treatment and there is always a risk for complications, which could include sudden death. Cats respond differently and will often develop serious complications in response to the dying heartworms. There is no approved medication for the treatment of heartworm disease in cats in the US and most infected cats are simply provided with supportive and symptomatic care (wane.com).

Heartworm prevention is important and inexpensive for your pet to avoid any serious complications from happening. You should be proactive in preventing this instead of being passive and catching this before it’s too late.

Contact one of the well-respected doctors at the Bregman Vet Group and they can talk to you in more detail if you have any concerns about the heartworm disease.

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