Heartworm Testing and Prevention

What Is Heartworm Disease?

Heartworm disease is a serious illness that can rob your dog of its health and even its life.

Heartworm larvae are transmitted by infected mosquitoes that bite the dog and deposit heartworm larvae on the dog’s skin. The larvae migrate through the tissue and into the bloodstream of the dog, where they continue developing. By the time clinical signs of heartworm disease appear, the disease can already be in its advanced stages.

Heartworms spend their adult lives in the right side of the heart and the large blood vessels that connect the heart to the lungs. The adult worms block the heart and major blood vessels leading from the heart to the lungs, liver, and kidneys and can grow up to 12 inches long.

Valley Vetco specializes in heartworm disease detection and prevention for dogs.

Is Heartworm Disease Treatable?

Treatment is risky, expensive, and may not be effective. The approved treatment involves the use of a product containing arsenic, your dog will be kept inactive during treatment, and you will have to keep your dog inactive for weeks afterward – and despite these measures, treatment may not be successful.

Is There Heartworm Disease in Albuquerque?

New Mexico may seem like a dry desert, and many people are not concerned about mosquitoes; however, monsoon rains, standing water, and moist places, such as lawns, parks, and golf courses, are perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

In 2019:

-Bernalillo County (including Albuquerque) had 135 positive cases of heartworm disease.*

-Sandoval County had six positive cases of heartworm disease.*

-Valencia County had 53 positive cases of heartworm disease.*

*This only includes the number of positive cases reported to The Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC)

Can I Purchase Prevention Online?

Any dog being put on heartworm prevention should be tested for heartworm disease prior to being put on heartworm prevention and even at regular intervals while on prevention to avoid potentially fatal reactions. At Valley Vetco, we retest every 24 months when regularly purchasing through us because the quality of our product is guaranteed.

Advantages of purchasing prevention from Valley Vetco:

• Valley Vetco offers manufacturer rebates on 12-month packs of prevention so you save even more money (manufacturers will not honor rebates on products purchased from online retailers because they are not authorized to sell their products.)
• Valley Vetco does not charge a fee to issue a prescription when you purchase products through us (a $15 administrative fee is charged to transfer a prescription to an online pharmacy other than Valley Vetco.)
• Valley Vetco also sells tablets month-to-month, so you don’t have to invest a lot of money at once.
• Heartworm prevention manufacturers only sell to licensed veterinarians and therefore only guarantee products  that are  purchased through veterinarians.
• Valley Vetco only requires heartworm testing every 24 months when prevention products are purchased reguarly  through us (because product quality is not guaranteed on prevention purchased from online retailers, testing will be required every 12 months if you purchase outside of Valley Vetco.)
• Should you decide to purchase prevention online anyway, Valley Vetco will transfer a prescription to an online pharmacy for an annual administrative fee. The fee will need to be paid prior to your prescription being authorized. Dogs will also need to be retested every 12 months to make sure the product you are purchasing is effective.

For More Information

Please visit the following websites for more excellent information about heartworm disease and its prevention:

FDA Heartworm Information

American Heartworm Society