Canine patients will
be staged for Heartworm Disease as part of the evaluation.
This helps the practitioner decide which method of treatment
would be best for the elimination of the Heartworms:
Stage I Lowest risk...
young healthy dogs with minimal Heartworm disease evident
on X-rays and all other tests are normal.
Stage II Moderately
affected dogs... some coughing is noticed, some difficulty
breathing, changes are seen on X-rays, and blood work
may reveal some kidney and/or liver damage.
Stage III Severely
affected dogs... the patient has weight loss, coughing,
difficulty breathing, more damage visible on x-rays,
and blood tests shows kidney and/or liver damage.
Stage IV Vena Cava
Syndrome or Caval Syndrome... the dog is collapsing
in shock, all of the above abnormalities are more intense
and the dog is dying. They are initially treated with
surgical jugular removal of some worms if possible.
There is no guarantee this treatment will be successful
and many patients with Caval Syndrome die in spite of
attempts to treat.
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