Heartworm
Heartworm disease:
Is your dog really at risk?

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Some vets have experimented with the anti-parasitic, black walnut, but this natural treatment can be toxic if not used carefully. While several vets report using it with success, Kruesi expresses concern that black walnut better addresses intestinal rather than blood-borne parasites. He stresses it should be used under a vet’s supervision.

While asymptomatic systems are unnoticable, clinical signs of the disease may present themselves in a variety of ways. In mild cases, the dog may cough only when the vet applies pressure to the trachea, while in moderate cases, symptoms may include increased rate and depth of respiration, mild weight loss and partial anorexia. Dogs with severe heartworm disease may exhibit signs of right heart failure, increased rate and depth of respiration, emaciation, anorexia and a distended abdomen.

“That’s when you have to bring out the big guns,” says Buffet. The big guns are two arsenic-based drugs, thiacetarsamide and the more recent melarsomine. Most vets choose melarsomine because it is more effective, easier to administer (intramuscular injection), and causes less toxic side effects to dogs.

Despite the scare tactics, the prognosis for infected individuals is quite good, according to the University of Guelph’s studies. For asymptomatic dogs and individuals with mild to moderate disease, the response to therapy is excellent. For individuals with severe right heart failure, guardians can be cautiously optimistic, with most individuals usually responding to therapy. Individuals with severe chronic disease may be left with a residual cough.

Regardless of which treatment a dog undergoes, Dr. Kruesi and Dr. Buffet both recommend supplements to bolster the dog’s immune system. “I use anti-oxidents, milk thistle for the liver, and Co-enzyme Q10 to help the heart,” says Buffet. Kruesi stresses that it’s important to detoxify the liver if you’re using any kind of preventative or adulticide. In addition to anti-oxidant vitamins, he recommends the cofactors sulphur, magnesium, taurine, B-vitamins and unsaturated fats. “Adding a green food, a multi-vitamin with minerals and a good quality oil such as salmon oil will really help,” he summarizes.

These cases are few and far between though. Because the incidence of heartworm disease is only 1 in 1,000 dogs in the Northeast U.S., Kruesi prefers to take common sense preventative measures that include limiting exposure to mosquitoes and building an animal’s natural immune system through a high quality diet to help fight off parasites.

“Prevention should be an integrative approach,” he explains. “That means having dogs come indoors at night, putting screens on the windows so mosquitoes can’t get in, using natural bug repellents daily, adding brewers yeast and garlic to the diet (contraindicated for dogs who are allergic to yeast), and considering a heartworm nosode.” The heartworm nosode, prepared by a homeopathic pharmacy, is basically a very diluted harmless version of heartworm that is given to dogs on a regular schedule. The dogs naturally mount an immune response to the nosode, so that if the real parasite comes along, his immune system is prepared to take care of it. Although Kruesi has used the nosode with success, he admits there are no clinical studies that support sole use of the nosode in heartworm endemic areas, and would not recommend it for dogs at high risk.

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Published in the Summer 2002 issue of Animal Wellness