Heartworms or Heart disease...please help me!Ok as a lot of you have read over the past few months I took in a pregnant stray who had 8 puppies. I took her to the vet once during pregnancy but thinking back I do not think they actually listened to her heart.
I had her to the vet again yesterday (a different one) and he heard a heart murmor. He told me that it is either heartworms or something with her heart and started explaining about heart failure and her lungs filling with fluid eventually etc.
I am taking her back today for the heartworm test and am curious what are the treatments for heartworms and generally how costly are they? Are they guaranteed to work or is it a gamble?
Now if it is not heartworms anyone know what I am in for?
Thanks Christine
Answer by $ arah !
well you kind of have to wait until the test is done to tell the treatment their are four classes of heart worm, and thats what tell you how bad it is . i lost my dog to heartworm treatment in Dec. she was a class 2. the treatment is pretty dangerous the detaching worms can get caught in the heart valves and kill her. she wont be able to move around alot, you will have to confine her to a kennel for most of the time. yes it can get very expensive. my dog only got the first shot and died 3 days later, but just for the one shot it cost about $ 150, and she was going to need 2 more shots...so today when you find out the class they will let you know if she will have to have 2 or 3 shots.
Answer by amlover_462000
heart worms are worms that set up shop in the heart and grow and eat until the heart can't t take it any more.. Cyanide or something similar is the treatment.. It is very hard on the dog too.. If heart worms death is a sure thing in the future untreated..
Other than the worms there are so may things that can be wrong with the dogs heart.. Cross that bridge when you get to it.
PS why did they not draw blood yesterday and do the heartworm test while you were there. Now you have 2 visits to pay for!! What's wrong with this picture?
Answer by john n
heart worms are treatable when they are caught in time. the dog probably ate something that caused the worms or was bitten over and over leaving the parasites in her blood that went into the heart area. they can become huge and grow to 2 feet then wrap them sevles around the heart and lungs causing the dog to smother and die. she might just have congestion from her poor diet and giving birth. wait and see what shows up and hopefully the vet can treat her and she will be healthy in no time. with all the meds they have now its a good bet that she will be on the mend. heart murmors are just little sounds that most people have including most of my family and it is not that serious unless there are heart problems,fluid can cause the noise also. good luck
Answer by Ce
ask your vet all your questions...he'll probably give you details, price ranges and a prognosis anyways. Don't be shy or feel stupid to ask a lot of questions. (after all, you are paying him to do this...)
depending on how serious the heartworms are, outcomes and risks can vary. they give the dog medicine to kill the worms, and then that "wad" of dead worms has to make it from the heart throughout the dog's system. This can sometimes be rough on the dog, especially if the dog in not in good shape. Your vet will tell you his opinion on how well he thinks she'll take it, and if she's up for it.
being a stray , chances are it is heartworms (they come from mosquitoes). Responsible pet owners keep their dogs (and cats) on monthly heartworm prevention that kills the "baby heartworms" that are in the bloodstream before they ever make it to the heart and lodge themselves there. this is a common problem with stray dogs in areas that have mosquitoes (I live in the mid-south and we have LOTS).
If it is heardisease, depending on what's going on, there are different treatments and (maintenance) medications that the vet might give you.
bottom line: Feel free to ask ALL your questions and voice all your concerns. It is the vet's job to not only take care of the animal, but also educate the owner
Answer by stephaniej2888
My dog had heartworms when we adopted her also, what my vet did is they give her a heartworm shot to kill all the live ones in her system, but you have to keep the dog calm and walk it on a leash so it cant run around for a few weeks to a month, but then they are all gone. The buy heart guard (there like medicated dog treats) and you give those to it once a month to keep them from getting more.
My cat has a heart murmer and it depends on how serous it is. They normaly scale it 1-5 and my cat is a 1. If its worse sometimes there is medication you can put the amimal on to help. My vet told me signs to look for if the murmer is getting worse is sleeping more, getting tired easier etc. but sence your dog just had puppies it might be hard to tell!
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