My heartworm positive dog is coughing blood. Should I go to the vet?

If he is heartworm positive then the coughing is likely associated with it. Heartworms live in the pulmonary artery which is what takes the blood from the heart to the lungs to get oxygen. They can cause significant decrease in the amount of blood flow as well as they are really inflammatory. Their presence makes the lungs really angry and that causes cough. In later stages the heart can be so damaged that they can go into heart failure, which can also cause cough. I would highly encourage you to schedule a follow up appointment with your veterinarian to discuss this disease and how to treat it. I would also recommend an x-ray of the chest to see how much damage has already occurred. In the meantime I would encourage you to keep him on leash and not running around where he might cause more damage. Best of luck to you and Max! I hope he recovers well! Thank you for using Pet Coach.

This is a very real concern and you should have him assessed by a vet urgently. Infection, injury, heart and lung disease, parasites, clotting issues and foreign bodies could all be at play. A full physical and possibly chest xrays are recommended immediately

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Chancey! I would be concerned as well. Coughing blood is not normal. Possible causes are clotting or platelet issues, liver issues, cancer, heart worm disease, fungal or bacterial pulmonary disease. I would take her back for a recheck. I recommend full blood work, heart worm test and chest X-rays. I hope this helps and I wish Chancey the very best!

Hello, there are multiple causes for a cough like the one you are describing. One potential cause may include heartworm disease, however, this can be checked with a snap test. If it returns positive for heartworm, then there are medications you can try at home to treat this disease. Other causes may include heart disease and lung disease. Some primary lung diseases such as bronchitis and pneumonia can cause this. To fully explore this causes for your dog's cough, he may need x-rays, a cardiology consultation, and a heart worm test. The other cause in smaller dogs include a collapsing trachea. Ideally your coughing dog should not live an fast or active lifestyle to prevent exacerbation of her cough and from her going into respiratory distress. Please see your veterinarian soon if your dog continues to cough. Hope this helps and best of luck.

I would be concerned about these signs even if they are related to heartworm disease, and would not consider this type of coughing as typical for a dog recovering from heartworm. If she seems to be having trouble breathing you should seek emergency veterinary care. A chest x-ray might be recommended depending on how Tess's chest sounds on physical exam.

It definitely sounds like Midnight should be seen by a veterinarian sometime soon. As long as he isn't in overt respiratory distress, this doesn't have to be tonight. I would plan on getting him there early this week, however. Based on all the clinical signs you have described, I would suspect there is either some sort of primary respiratory disease such as an infection or cancerous process occurring, or a cardiac condition. Heartworm certainly can not be ruled out as a possibility either. All of the above mentioned conditions can be mostly ruled in or out via a chest x ray. Blood work to go along with this will be able to determine if Heart worm is or is not probable. I hope you are able to figure out what is happening with Midnight.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Iris definitely needs to be seen by a vet right away. The cough and bloody stool can be related or unrelated. Coughing in dogs can be caused by pneumonia. upper respiratory infections, heartworm disease, or heart conditions. Bloody diarrhea can be caused by inflammatory bowel disease, viral diseases such as parvovirus, toxin ingestion, or bacterial infections. Sometimes, severe parasitic infections can cause these signs. A vet can perform a physical exam, and will likely need some further diagnostics such as bloodwork and x-rays to determine next steps and treatment. I hope all is well with Iris!