{"id":189,"date":"2016-06-01T15:21:32","date_gmt":"2016-06-01T21:21:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lonetreevet.com\/blog\/?p=189"},"modified":"2024-06-03T13:18:40","modified_gmt":"2024-06-03T19:18:40","slug":"heartworm-prevention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lonetreevet.com\/blog\/heartworm-prevention\/","title":{"rendered":"Heart To Heart: The Importance Of Heartworm Prevention"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-180 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lonetreevet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/LoneTreeHeartworm_iStock_5365377_LARGE.jpg\" alt=\"Importance of Heartworm Prevention \" width=\"3147\" height=\"2360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.lonetreevet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/LoneTreeHeartworm_iStock_5365377_LARGE.jpg 3147w, https:\/\/www.lonetreevet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/LoneTreeHeartworm_iStock_5365377_LARGE-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.lonetreevet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/LoneTreeHeartworm_iStock_5365377_LARGE-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.lonetreevet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/LoneTreeHeartworm_iStock_5365377_LARGE-1024x768.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3147px) 100vw, 3147px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Heartworm Disease &#8211; What Is It and What Causes It?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Heartworm disease is caused by a parasite, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">dirofilaria immitis<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which is transmitted by mosquitos. A mosquito can pick up the parasite in its microscopic stage by feeding on an infected animal, such as a dog, cat, coyote, raccoon, opossum, or wolf.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once inside the pet\u2019s body, the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">microfilaria<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> travel through the blood stream and take up residence in the heart, lungs, and accompanying blood vessels. Over a period of several months to a year, the worms can grow up to 12 inches in length. They wreak havoc on the pet\u2019s internal organs, causing significant damage and suffering. If not treated, the pet will eventually die. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If caught early, heartworm can be treated in dogs. However treatment is expensive and painful. Treatment is expensive because it requires multiple visits to the veterinarian, blood tests, x-rays, hospitalization, and a series of injections. It may require months of confinement. In cats, heartworm is not treatable and often results in death.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Is Heartworm in Colorado?\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Answer, yes. We\u2019ve diagnosed several positive cases of heartworm at our clinic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While we have a lower incidence of heartworm disease in Colorado, as compared to the other parts of the country, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heartwormsociety.org\/pet-owner-resources\/heartworm-prevention-for-dogs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">heartworm disease is found in all 50 states.<\/a> The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) considers Colorado a <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">red state. L<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ocal mosquitos have been found to be carriers of the heartworm parasite.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>The Many Benefits Of Heartworm Prevention<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A simple monthly medication is all that is required to prevent heartworm. Not only does the medication prevent heartworm, most also include medication designed to kill common intestinal parasites such as roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, and tapeworms. Because roundworms and hookworms can be transmitted to people, it is yet another reason to have your pet on a heartworm preventive.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Lone Tree Veterinary Medical Center Can Help<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you haven\u2019t started your pet on a heartworm preventive medication, we are here to help. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lonetreevet.com\/contact-us\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Give us a call<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to set up an appointment or to discuss any questions or concerns you may have about heartworm prevention.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[112],"tags":[114,126,20,117,115],"class_list":["post-189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fleas-ticks-heartworm","tag-fleas","tag-heartworm-prevention","tag-parasite-prevention","tag-pet-parasites","tag-ticks"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Heart To Heart: The Importance Of Heartworm Prevention | Lone Tree Veterinary Medical Center<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Preventing heartworms in dogs is crucial to maintaining their health. 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