My dog might have heartworm. How do vets test and treat it?

Yes. Testing for heartworms is simple with a blood sample taken by your vet. We do a screening snap test that gives results in 8-10 mins. I hope this helps and thanks for visiting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Take care. : )

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The microfilaria tests to see if there are larvae in the blood stream. It tells us if the dog is infectious and guides treatment. Usually we do the microfilaria test after the dog is positive on the heart worm antigen test which tests for the adult female worm that is already present in the pulmonary artery. Have a good day!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and I’m so glad Carson has a new wonderful owner! You 100% need to run the test. A dog can look completely healthy and have a serious heartworm infestation that is slowly damaging the heart and major vessels. There is a very specific way of testing and treating heatworms that can be adjusted based on if there are microfilaria (baby heart worms in the blood stream) or not which is likely what they will be testing. If it is the other common test we run, you should do it because if it comes up negative, you may not need further treatment! In many cases I feel that extra testing may not be needed or may not change how I treat a problem. But heartworm disease is not one of them. Follow the protocol to the letter as best you can for the highest likelihood of success. Best of luck to you and Carson!

Hi, I'm Dr. Johnson. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Poor Midnight Yes, heartworm disease is serious. Dogs get heartworm from being bitten by an infected mosquito. The mosquito injects microfilaria (baby heartworm) in to the skin when they bite the dog. It can then take 6 months to travel from the skin to the pulmonary artery. If they get a lot of heartworm they back up in to the heart (Caval syndrome). That is very serious because the adult worms have to be extracted from the heart via the jugular vein. Your other dogs can not get it from Midnight, only from a mosquito. You should have all your dogs tested then started on heartworm prevention. The gold standard of treatment is injectable adulticide as 3 injections. One is given then the other 2 a month later 24 hours apart. During treatment and 2 months after the 3rd injection the dog has to be strictly cage rested. The major risk of treating and HAVING heart worm is sudden death from clots to the lungs. Talk to your Vet about treatment options. I wish you the best!

Some veterinarians treat heart worms with a slow kill method by giving heartworm prevention monthly which will kill the adult worms over time and prevent new ones. The more common treatment is with injections to kill the worms quickly. Both methods have advantages and disadvantages. Doing it with a slow kill method is much less expensive. The shots are expensive, can be painful and you would need to keep your dog very quiet for six weeks. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Duke.

Unfortunately, videos cannot load onto the PetCoach platform, so I am unable to see Hershey's current behaviors. However, the only way to diagnose heartworm disease is through blood tests that determine if the antibodies or antigens (depending on the test) of adult heartworms are present. Nearly every vet is able to perform this blood test at the time of an appointment, so I strongly recommend taking Hershey to his vet if heartworm disease is suspected. Dogs with heartworm disease may experience coughing, exercise intolerance, weight loss, among other signs. Heartworm disease is a very serious condition, and is fatal if left untreated. This website has some great information for further reading: https://www.heartwormsociety.org/pet-owner-resources . I hope that all goes well for Hershey!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. If your Vet was only testing for heartworm then that was likely the only thing ran. General blood work usually is a CBC and a chemistry. I think it is best to call your Vet in the am and ask if any other blood work was sent out with the heartworm test. You could also look at your invoice.