If you’ve ever heard a vet warn about heartworm but never quite understood the full picture, you’re definitely not alone. It’s one of those conditions that feels invisible… until it isn’t. By the time a dog shows clear signs of infection, heartworms have already settled in, grown, and begun causing serious trouble inside the heart and lungs. That’s exactly why vets emphasise using heartworm preventives year-round.
But what if your dog already has heartworms? Or are you simply trying to understand how heartworm treatment for dogs actually works? Let’s break everything down in a way that feels clear, grounded, and genuinely useful without an overload of information.
What Heartworms Actually Do Inside a Dog’s Body?
Heartworm disease is transmitted the moment an infected mosquito bites a dog and injects microscopic larvae into the skin. Over several months, those larvae travel through the dog’s tissue and bloodstream, growing quietly until they reach the pulmonary arteries and, in severe cases, the heart itself.
Here’s why that’s a big deal:
- The worms appear spaghetti-like and can grow up to one foot long.
- Adult heartworms may live for five to seven years in a dog.
- In extreme cases, they block blood flow and cause inflammation, scarring, coughing, and heart strain.
The condition advances slowly, meaning your dog may look “fine” early on, which explains why heartworm disease is such a sneaky threat.
Can Heartworm Disease Be Cured?
Honestly, yes. It also depends on the dog’s condition and how advanced the infection is.
Modern dog heartworm treatment protocols are highly effective, but treating a heartworm infectionis not a simple or quick process. It often takes several months and requires restricting physical activities because when adult worms die, they can cause blockages or inflammation as the body clears them out.
Dogs with early-stage infections usually recover well. Severely affected dogs, especially those with heart failure or caval syndrome, need much more intensive care.The goal is always to treat early and prevent reinfection.
How do Vets Confirm Heartworm Infection?
Here are a few essential tests for diagnosing heartworm infection:
- Antigen Test:This is the most widely used method.It detects proteins produced by an adult female heartworm.However, this test cannot identify early infections because it can only identify the presence of adult heartworms.
- Microfilaria Test: It can be performed to check the presence of baby heartworms (microfilariae) circulating in the bloodstream.
- Chest X-rays or Ultrasound (sometimes both):Other diagnostic tools include echocardiography (a type of ultrasound)and chest X-rays. The tests help assess the damage to the heart and lungs.
How Heartworm Treatment for Dogs Works?
The treatment of heartworm disease involvesa structured protocol designed to clear the worms safely while protecting the dog’s organs from complications.
Here’s the process vets generally follow:
1. Stabilisation:
Dogs experiencing coughing, difficulty breathing, poor appetite, weight loss, or fatigue often need to be stabilised with appropriate treatments before the treatment begins.
2. Makeheartworms weak:
Vets recommend an antibioticto target Wolbachia, a bacterium that lives inside heartworms of all developmental stages. Why target Wolbachia? Killing these bacteria weakens the worms and makes the next phase safer.
3. Heartworm preventives:
The purpose is to reduce any existing immature worms from developing and prevent new infections.
4. Melarsomine treatment:
The vet may administer a series of injections (melarsomine) to kill adult heartworms. Treating adult heartworms using this drug needs careful monitoring for potential side effects, including pain or more serious complications like pulmonary thromboembolism. It must be given under veterinary supervision.
Activity Restriction
This is honestly the hardest part for most pet parents.
For six to eight weeks, dogs must not be allowed torun, play or engage in any activity that puts strain on the heart.The dead ordying worms can cause blood vessel blockages and serious complications if the dog is not kept quiet and calm. Rest reduces that risk dramatically.
Most dogs begin feeling better during this phase; you will notice increased energy, improved appetite, weight gain, and them acting like themselves a few weeks after the treatment. Things don’t get over here. Vets usually recommend a follow-up heartworm test to ensure the worms are completely gone.
Why Prevention isSo Much Easier Than a Cure?
After you’ve seen what actual dog heartworm treatment involves, it’s easy to understand why vets push for using preventives so strongly. Just one missed month can give larvae time to mature. Once that happens, you can’t “undo” it with a normal preventive. These monthly heartworm preventatives are:
- Far cheaper than the treatment.
- Far safer.
- Proven to stop larvae from maturing into adults.
Final Thoughts
Heartworm disease can be dangerous for dogs. With modern veterinary care, the disease can be treated. Thecrucial part is catching it early. If your dog has missed doses of heartworm preventives, has travelled to a high-risk area, or is showing signs like coughing, fatigue, or loss of appetite, talk to a vet and get a quick blood test. It could make all the difference.
You can get heartworm preventives with exciting offers from SingaporePetCare. We provide fast and reliable shipping, so you can stock up on all your pet’s healthcare essentials and protect them throughout the year.
