What are the Causes of Heartworms in Dogs?
Dogs, along with cats are said to be very vulnerable against
heartworms. There are many pet owners, who are not aware of the extent
of damage, which heartworms could do to their pet dogs.
It’s therefore essential that pet owners should pick few necessary facts
about heartworms in dogs.
Firstly, you should be aware of the fact that if, your pet dog has been
affected by heartworms for a considerable length of time, you may arrive
at a juncture when there’s no looking back.
You could lose your dog, eventually.
How heartworms migrate inside a dog’s body?
Heartworms do not enter a dog’s body on its own; they are carried by a
mosquito. A mosquito bite could turn out to be very dangerous for your
pet dog.
The process begins with a mosquito bite on a dog, already suffering from
heartworm disease.
When a dog suffers from heartworm disease for a period of, say, more
than a year, it starts giving birth to baby worms, known as
microfilaria. These microfilaria or baby worms are carried by a
mosquito.
These baby worms stay with a mosquito for a fortnight, before it finds
its way to the body of an ill-fated dog, through a mosquito bite.
This microfilaria only enters a dog’s body, once the mosquito bite
pierces the skin and comes in contact with the dog’s blood.
The microfilaria, transforms into a larvae, and then it goes into the
right side of the dog’s body. Though, the process of dog’s infection
from heartworms goes through a certain time frame, it doesn’t unfold
overnight.
It could take up to 6 months for the heartworms to enter the right
ventricle of the dog’s heart.
But if, the heartworms do enter the right ventricle of a dog’s heart, it
could turn out to be life threatening for the dog.
 Why heartworms become life threatening once it reaches the dog’s
heart?
The presence of heartworms creates breathing difficulties in a dog.
Heartworms gather on the right heart, and enhance the heart chamber to
almost three times, its original size, which eradicates the possibility
of the closure of the main heart valve.
With a large heart chamber, and open valve, it becomes obvious that the
blood goes back and gets stored in the dog’s abdomen. The dog’s abdomen
is unable to absorb excess blood, and the dog’s abdomen broadens.
A large abdomen with numerous heartworms is known as ascites.
This state of dog’s abdomen is incurable, as it leads to breathing
difficulties, which again, leads to a dog’s death.
Length of heartworms in dogs
Heartworms vary in length.
A microfilaria takes around 4 months to develop into an adult heartworm.
A heartworm travels through veins, before it finally settles in the
right ventricle. If it’s not treated, it could grow really big, to the
size of a large measuring scale.
An adult heartworm could reach as long as 12inches and it may well live
up to 5 healthy years inside the dog’s heart.
An adult heartworm, if it gets an opportunity could reproduce more of
its types, which could lead to severe lung and liver problems in dogs.
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