What are the complications of heartworm disease in dogs?

Why do they call it heartworm? Because the worms live in the heart. I'm not saying that to be silly, but anything that lives in the heart is obviously going to be detrimental. These worms can get pretty good-sized. Believe it or not, they can reach six to eight inches long, so that's a pretty good size. If you get one or two, it’s probably not a huge deal. If you get 10 or 12, it’s starting to become a big deal now. If you get more than that, well, you can imagine. Common sense would tell you that's going to begin to affect how efficiently and effectively that the heart can pump. Can those valves seal off? Is blood flow going to be impeded in going to the lungs to get oxygenated? All that stuff is a factor, so there are some very significant signs associated with the disease itself. And some of those changes are irreversible if they've been there for long enough, even if the dog is treated.

Death is one of the most significant complications. These dogs can go into respiratory distress syndrome. Also, these worms are 12 inches long. Pieces of them can break off while the dog is running and playing, and they form a blood clot that can go to the lungs or other parts of the body. And sometimes, even often, it's fatal. Fatality is one of the worst complications. Even with treatment, the dog will often develop pulmonary hypertension, which eventually leads to some right-sided heart failure.

The biggest one is that heartworm disease can kill your pet. That's why a lot of veterinarians or almost all veterinarians are so adamant about heartworm prevention—it is a disease that can kill.

Heartworm disease can cause heart murmurs, coughing, enlarged heart, and even death.

Heartworms live in the heart, lungs, and arteries of infected dogs. They can cause heart failure, lung failure, and liver failure. Additionally, the inflammation caused by the heartworms living in these areas can lead to chronic health issues.

The complications of heartworm disease include exercise intolerance, coughing, potential heart disease and death.